“He has unnecessarily become emotional. Please give him a glass of water to drink,” deputy speaker Shehla Raza said. PHOTO: IRFAN ALI/EXPRESS/FILE
MQM member Dewan Chand Chawla got emotional and spoke at length about the plight of girls from the Hindu community and how the cases of extortion and kidnapping are on the rise.
“I want to know who will come to rescue us from these extremists and criminals. These feudal centric people don’t know about Hindu community’s contribution in education and health sectors,” he cried, before pleading for the release of kidnapped people.
Deputy speaker Shehla Raza pointed out that there were “clear rules. The MPA cannot debate on a call attention notice. You should wait for the answer of government on this issue.”
“He has unnecessarily become emotional. Please give him a glass of water to drink,” she added as Chawla continued with his speech.
Her remarks sparked chaos in the assembly with MQM members protesting and chanting against Raza. “Deputy Speaker has used non-parliamentary language. Our MPA was raising a genuine issue.”
However, Raza defended herself, saying she will not let “anyone to breach the rules of this house. Don’t make this house a fish market. You can leave the house if you are not interested in the proceedings. Stop making hue otherwise I will adjourn the session.”
Pakistan Peoples Party MPAs Dr Sikandar Mandhro and Sharjeel Inam Memon came to the aid of Raza, urging opposition benches to calm down, but in vain.
Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani joined the session ten minutes later which calmed the house down briefly. But the house soon erupted in chants as members of the opposition and treasury benches resumed their finger pointing.
Durrani requested the members of the MQM and PPP to sit down which brought the situation under control. But proceedings came to a head again when MQM's deputy parliamentary leader Khawaja Izharul Hassain alleged that food minister Jam Mahtab Dahar had used the non-parliamentary language against their woman MPA Sumeta Azfal Syed.
Accusations and counter accusations were traded across the aisles, forcing the speaker to adjourn the session till Tuesday.
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MQM is middle class party, they should leave age old mohajirism, they are no more Mohajir, they are now sons of Sindh and Pakistan. And they must stand by Sindhi community, civil society, progressive nationalists and common people. But they always sided with feudals. MQM made some inroads in Sindhi population, but I dont know why they erase all their efforts to dust by calling for separate province and Mohajir identity. They will get huge response from Sindh, if they shun Mohajirism and completely integrate with Sindhis.
MQM can be wrong many times and they are rightly criticized, but on the plight of Hindu Sindhi issue, their minority MPA is very much right that forced conversion, kidnapping for ransom and life threats are increasing in volumes against Sindhi Hindus. They are sons of this beautiful land, their contribution in education, health and small business is laudable, they are peaceful people. We all must raise our voice to safeguard the rights of minorities.