Uproar in PA over Azam Swati’s arrest

PTI MPAs protest, stage walkout when deputy speaker disallows Haleem to speak on the issue

KARACHI:

The Sindh Assembly hall echoed with chants against the arrest and humiliation of elderly PTI Senator Azam Swati.

Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) MPAs protested and staged a walkout when the Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari did not allow Leader of the Opposition Haleem Adil Shaikh to speak up against the arrest of Senator Azam Swati.

The house witnessed the pandemonium when Haleem Adil Shaikh welcomed the son of Azam Swati sitting in the gallery and wanted to speak about his case.

"Let me finish the agenda, and then I will give you a chance to speak on any issue," Lghari said. The assembly staff switched off the Leader of Opposition mike, which led to a protest in the house.

The PTI MPAs holding placards in their hands in front of the speaker's podium, demanded the release of Azam Swati. "Reha Kato Reha Karo, Azam Swati ko Reha Karo" was the slogan that echoed in the house.

After the protest, the PTI MPA walked out of the session and did not return.

Earlier, as the session started, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, slammed the opposition member's claims about the theft of wheat stocks by the provincial government. "The reports about wheat theft are baseless. It's in safe hands," he said, challenging the opposition members to bring proof.

Responding to questions asked by opposition members, Chawla said, "We are now suffering from the previous government policies. Their wrong policies created the crises, increasing flour prices."

Responding to a PTI MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman's query, he said, "The Sindh government could store 1.4 million wheat sacks in different warehouses but keep 5 lakh sacks under the open sky instead," he said.

Speaking about the support price of the wheat, he added that in their tenure, PPP governments had given the growers incentives to fix a maximum price. He believed that the incumbent government had set wheat support prices at 4000.

Talking about the relief for the growers in the wake of the floods, he said that the provincial government was giving them compensation for the seed.

When asked about the death of children in Thar, the minister said that it was reported in the old days Thar is now becoming a game changer that will change the destiny of people following coal reservoirs.

MQM-P parliamentary leader Rana Ansar raised the issue of a non-functional medical college in Hyderabad. "The building of the medical college in Gulistan e Latifabad was completed 13 years ago, but the college has yet to start," she said.

Parliamentary secretary Qasim Soomro said the schemes with the Works and Services department. It's under process, and medical college will be opened by next year," he said.

The deputy speaker adjourned the session till Tuesday.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2022.