Gas, power outages dominate Sindh Assembly session

Opposition MPAs ask provincial govt to take up issue with Centre

KARACHI:

The load-shedding of natural gas and electricity dominated the proceedings of Sindh Assembly on Tuesday as opposition MPAs agitated the issue on the floor of the house.

Syed Abdul Rasheed of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amjal (MMA) drew the house attention towards the long-hour outages in winter which were also creating severe water crisis in the city.

"Not just my constituency, but the entire Karachi is bearing the brunt of load-shedding. The government must take notice and resolve the issue," he said. "The Sindh government should approach the concerned authorities for this purpose," he added.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the power and gas utilities were under the federal government, but assured the house that the provincial government would write to the utilities to address the issue.

During the session, PTI MPA Ali Aziz asked about the government's delaying tactics in arranging the Public Safety Commission's meetings to discuss the law and order situation, safety of life, health and properties, etc. "The Sindh government is befooling all of us by making up lame excuses," he said.

Imdad Pitafi of the PPP confronted Aziz. "The government convenes the commission's meetings, but opposition MPAs avoid attending," he claimed.

Since it was a private members' day, PTI's Rabia Azfar Nizami moved a private bill against domestic violence, but Deputy Speaker Rehana Laghari referred it to the relevant standing committee for feedback. The house also rejected with a majority vote a bill moved by PTI MPA Shamim Naqvi regarding implementation of laws. Later, the house was adjourned till Friday.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2022.