KARACHI: “Murder can never be condoned in politics,” said Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro, as he attempted to end the sparring between representatives of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) in the assembly on Monday.
The fireworks were sparked after MQM MPA Khwaja Izharul Hassan spoke against ANP Senator Ilyas Bilour’s remarks about the MQM on an episode of the ARY News talk show Pakistan Tonight with Fahad Husain. Bilour had claimed that the ANP had restricted the MQM in Karachi. Following the MQM’s condemnation of the statement over the weekend, Hassan led the charge against the ANP on Monday. Hassan said Bilour had “bragged about the bloodshed in Karachi” and that he wanted to record his protest. He asked that the government take action on Bilour’s statement. “You cannot kill people and become a senator or a minister,” Hassan said.
ANP legislator Amanullah Masood tried to respond to Hassan but his mic was not switched on. As Masood uttered the words that would undoubtedly irk the MQM – “we know how people were openly killed on May 12 (2007)” – a number of MQM legislators stood and began throwing out names of areas, alleging the ANP was responsible for violence there.
Khuhro intervened. “No commission is sitting here today to investigate,” he said, and reminded Hassan that one could not make speeches on a point of order.
The MQM-ANP spat was yet another reminder of the hostility that exists between these coalition partners.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) must have had other things on its mind. The Sindh Assembly session was set to start shortly after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was indicted for contempt of court by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. But despite a considerable delay in starting the proceedings, there was no mention of what had transpired in Islamabad.
The PPP’s MPAs were present in full force and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah also put in an appearance. While they refrained from mentioning Gilani, Information Minister Shazia Marri commended Gilani in her briefing after the session. “This is a historic example you cannot find in Pakistan - that the elected prime minister has gone twice to the Supreme Court.”
“We have always respected the courts,” Marri said. “Our attitudes have not changed.”
While Gilani was not mentioned, the assembly remembered its slain leader. A resolution was proposed and adopted unanimously by the house, recommending the federal government through the interior ministry to publish the inquiry report on the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
At least one PPP minister looked contrite on Monday, after Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Marvi Rashdi presented a privilege motion on how the education secretary had not responded to her repeated calls or text messages when she needed to speak to him. “He is a public servant who did not respond to a public representative. If he is like this, how does he deal with the public?” Education and Literacy Minister Pir Mazharul Haq said he was unaware of why the secretary hadn’t responded to Rashdi, and asked for the matter to be deferred to the next sitting of the assembly. Rashdi’s case received support from other MPAs, who also complained about the secretary’s lack of communication skills.
Haq also spoke in the assembly on Monday on the issue of the protests by teachers at the Sindh University. As he reiterated his support for the administration, he spoke out against the teachers who protested the murder of a colleague. “We will evaluate these teachers on their performance as well; they have ruined the students’ education. The deputy vice chancellor should be allowed to the work as per the mandate given by this house.”
The assembly will next meet on Wednesday, as Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ayaz Soomro requested a day’s break because Tuesday is the deadline to file nomination papers for the upcoming Senate elections.
Q&A time
The Auqaf and Public Health Engineering departments responded to questions put to them by MPAs. In key findings, there are three buildings that have been declared unsafe by the Taluka Municipal Administration in Karachi – South: the Khadiji Bai Trust Building in Khori Garden, the Waqf Raja Ghulam Nabi Trust building on Frere Road and a building attached to Jamia Masjid Qasban in Saddar.
The Auqaf department also said it had spent Rs3,817,152 from 2007-2008 to 2009-2010 on facilities for those attending the urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. These facilities include costs such as fixing sewerage lines to decorations and installing CCTV cameras at the site. However, there are no permanent schemes in place for the maintenance of the shrine. Provincial minister Sardar Ahmed also said that the Public Health Engineering department has asked for Rs17 million to be re-appropriated for drainage schemes.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2012.
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Now that US Assistance for International Developments is restoring our cultural & religious heritage, business & economic development with the speed that we never saw before, the least we can do is Stop fighting against each other over unproductive actions of the past and join hands together for the prosperity of our land initially starting with setting-up a Website and a live Phone link for the needy to Reach his Elected Official like other countries do. The Public Officials in many Democratic countries even send emails & letters to their constituents about the Progress, Effort, Successes and Failures they want to tell about. Current row of political events are very sad but we have to keep moving forward for bright future of Pakistani Children. Because at the end of the day, the Question will be: What we are leaving behind for coming generations, after we are gone.