In Sindhi, Urdu and English, lawmakers promise to be loyal and honest

PPP legislators were undisputed leaders of the house, while the newcomers looked anxious.

KARACHI: Like schoolchildren excited to start a new class, the newly elected lawmakers in the 14th Sindh Assembly took their oaths on Wednesday.

In three different languages, the lawmakers promised to serve the people of the province with honesty and determination. The assembly may have arranged for different forms of speech but they have yet to acknowledge the presence of female legislators - all of whom promised to “kaam karun ga” instead of “karun gi” as they repeated the oath after the speaker, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

The session began two hours behind schedule but few were surprised at the delay. The mood was festive with a large banner welcoming the new legislators splashed across the two pillars outside the building and flowers showered on MPAs emerging from their SUVs with an entourage of officers walking by their sides.

The chatter drowned somewhat as soon as they entered the assembly building where a bell was ringing, signalling the legislators to make their way inside the House. A large silver mace was laid down in front of the speaker’s chair. “This is for when the speaker wants to bring the house to order, like a teacher,” chuckled a reporter.

A collage of former Sindh chief ministers is on display at the Sindh Assembly building where the 14th assembly started its first session on Wednesday. MQM legislators Faisal Subzwari and Sagheer Ahmed are deep in conversation with PPP’s Owais Muzaffar and Sharjeel Memon. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS

The MPAs had donned their best clothes for the occasion. The Pakistan Peoples Party legislators decided to go with off-white shalwar kameez - some of them even chose to accessorise with the traditional Sindhi topi. A few legislators with their large turbans also stood out among the crowd. Most of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) legislators chose white kurtas with pajamas. The women decided to go with bright-coloured lawn suits - hinting at the raving success of the numerous lawn exhibitions this season.

Who’s the boss?

The fact that the PPP managed to bag the most seats in Sindh was nowhere more apparent than in the house on Wednesday. The party’s legislators sauntered in as the undisputed leaders even though they had been given a run for their money in urban Sindh by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The MQM lawmakers looked at home as well, but it was the newcomers who looked visibly anxious.

Despite the fact that the MQM and the PPP ended the previous assembly sessions on opposite sides - with the former opting to sit on the opposition benches a few weeks before the caretaker setup - MQM’s Faisal Subzwari and Sagheer Ahmed were quite at ease sitting next to PPP’s Owais Muzaffar and Sharjeel Memon.

Tag alongs

With the election fever still fresh, several political supporters also tagged along with their MPAs to watch their chosen candidates in action. Much to the anger of reporters and cameramen, several jiyalas, Insafians and a few Haq Parast occupied the limited space in the press gallery as well. There was some talk of the media boycotting the session, but it received lukewarm response at best. A push here and a shove there, the cameramen managed to set up their equipment just in time for the national anthem.

Once an enthusiastic shout of ‘Jeay Bhutto’ and ‘Zinda hai Bhutto zinda hai’ [Bhutto is still alive] rang the hall, the other parties’ loyalists rose to the challenge: ‘Kon bachaye ga Pakistan? Imran Khan, Imran Khan’ [Who will save Pakistan? Imran Khan Imran Khan]. The slogan-fight would have stopped had speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro requested them in all three languages, and not just Sindhi.

The more famous legislators attracted louder thumping of the desks. As Agha Siraj Durrani - who is likely to take up the speaker’s slot - walked up to the front, the crowd erupted in cheers. He pointed to Khuhro’s chair as he shook as his hand, perhaps excited to be sitting there in the upcoming sessions.

PTI’s three lawmakers were hard to find in the crowd of mostly old faces. Samar Ali Khan did make his presence felt with a big shout of “Naya Pakistan zindabad” before walking out of the hall. As if on cue, his wife Atiqa Odho and his mother also vacated the visitors’ gallery and made their way out.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2013.