No more Afghan refugees: MPAs

Opposition lawmakers question govt on transport, education shortcomings

KARACHI:

The influx of Afghan refugees after the Taliban's takeover of Kabul has lawmakers in Sindh worried about the possible burden on the province's resources and health risks. At the Sindh Assembly on Monday, lawmakers expressed concerns for the spread of Covid-19 and poliovirus in refugee camps.

"Following the instability in their country, a huge number of Afghan refugees are entering Sindh...what steps are being taken to look after them and ensure they don't take jobs from Sindh and spread polio or Covid," asked Grand Democratic Alliance's (GDA) Arif Mustafa Jatoi as he moved a call attention notice on the matter.

In his motion, Jatoi directed his question to the home minister. "Why does the Sindh government not stop them. If not, then you should keep them at one place."

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of the home minister, was not present in the house, however.

Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh replied instead and said that it is not possible for the provincial government to deal with the matter as stopping refugees at the border comes under the federal government's authority. "The situation is not as bad as it is being portrayed. We are trying to get a minimum number of Afghan refugees and will keep them in camps," he said. "Around 500 Afghans have reached Sindh thus far."

Substandard education

Earlier, Jatoi questioned the poor quality of education in Sindh, which hindered youngsters from performing well in the Central Superior Service (CSS) exams and other competitive exams.

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"Will the minister for board and universities inform the house that due to the pathetic state of education in Sindh in the past 13 years, only 33 candidates out of the 364 who qualified the CSS across Pakistan in 2020 were domiciled in Sindh.

In Punjab, the number of successful candidates stood at 171," said Jatoi, moving a call attention notice. "This depicts the actual performance of the provincial education department."

Jatoi remarked that federal secretaries and Supreme Court judges could only be made from Sindh, when the government provides quality education. "As many as 6,900 government schools are lying nonfunctional. How can we expect good results?"

Sindh Universities and Boards Minister Ismail Rahu declared the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government's performance better than former military dictator General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf's regime - Jatoi served as a minister in Sindh during the latter's tenure.

"In 2004, around 281 passed the CSS exams in Pakistan [and] of them, only 24 belonged to Sindh. We are better than the previous governments. The Sindh government is now attaching all importance to improve the education system," claimed Rahu.

Transport woes

Before this, Opposition Leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, speaking on a point of order, highlighted that the Sindh government had spent Rs1,161 billion on the transport sector in the past 13 years but not a single public bus service could be seen plying the roads. The people of Karachi have no other option but to travel in worn out buses and risk their lives, he said.

Referring to a report, Haleem said that 90 per cent of Sindh's population travels in buses. He asked the relevant provincial ministers to give another timeline for the completion of their announced mass transit projects. "Today, the Centre has provided 40 buses to ply on the Green Line [Bus Rapid Transit] route. What have you done for the Yellow Line [BRT] project? What is your progress on it?" he asked.

This irked Sindh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla, who said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in the Centre only made tall claims and placed their names on projects launched by past governments. "What is your contribution in the Green Line BRT project?" he threw back at Haleem.

The Green Line BRT project was launched in February 2016 under the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) tenure in the Centre and PPP's in Sindh.

Anti-snake venom

Meanwhile, PTI lawmaker Dr Imran Shah drew the house's attention towards the severe shortage of anti-snake venom and said that snake biting cases were rising.

He referred to a particular case in Benazirabad, where a teenager lost his life after not being given timely treatment. " Almost 40 to 60 per cent of the people have no idea about the benefits of anti-snake venom. There is a dire need for awareness on this issue too," said the PTI MPA.

Responding to him, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho denied that there was a shortage of anti-snake venom. "Around 1.8 million doses are available in our stock and it is available in all districts of the province."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2021.