The BackBencher: Are turtle eggs halal or haram? MPAs want to know

In an intense debate over the list of endangered birds, the speaker of the assembly asked: Are owls banned too?”.

KARACHI:

Sindh's lawmakers are very concerned with what happens to turtles, peacocks, vultures, owls…and snow leopards in the province. They are so concerned that most of Friday's session was all about the animals — why they are sold at Empress Market, going extinct or why they are on the list of endangered species in the first place.

So it was a good thing that wildlife minister Giyan Chand missed the fourth assembly session in a row for if he had been there, the MPAs would not have let him leave. Chand has not attended any assembly sessions in which the question-answer session has been related to his department.

MPA Nasir Shah, who is the parliamentary secretary of the department, spoke on Chand's behalf once again and he had some tough questions to answer. In fact, he was speechless when Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Diwan Chand asked if turtle eggs were halal or haram. To which the speaker of the assembly Agha Siraj Durrani replied: "An egg is an egg."

An MPA asked Shah to explain where one could find snow leopards in Sindh as they were listed at number 14 on the list of endangered mammals. The speaker of the assembly turned his attention to Shah and asked him where he had the fortune to see a snow leopard in Sindh. Shah apologised for the incorrect listing and said it would be changed immediately.

Lawmakers occupying the treasury benches took shots at the other MPAs. While discussing the endangered mammals list, an MPA said that the house should take notice of the fact that there were many jackals present among them. In an intense debate over the list of endangered birds, the speaker of the assembly asked: "Ullo ke uppar bhi ban hai? [Are owls banned too?]"

Most questions in the session were asked by the women from the opposition including MQM's Naheed Begum, PML-F's Mehtab Rashdi and PTI's Dr Seema Zia. The speaker was so impressed by the ladies of the opposition that he complimented their choice of questions more than once.

In attendance

The session which was supposed to start at 10am, kicked off around 11:15am with a Fateha that took nearly 30 minutes. Both the MPAs on the treasury benches  and those in the opposition asked the house to remember and pray for those they had lost. Men in black robes, the secretary and additional secretary to the speaker walked around trying to get everything in order before the speaker made his way to the chair.

As Nisar Khuhro strolled into the assembly hall, it took him 20 minutes to get to his seat as a throng of people made their way to greet him. Khuhro's hearty laugh echoed as he patted a fellow MPA on the back and turned to talk to another one. Sharjeel Memon walked in wearing a grey shalwar kameez and a blazer of the same colour. His moustache was meticulously trimmed.

Opposition MPA Faisal Subzwari came to the session late wearing an off-white kurta and pyjama. He didn't say much during the session and made space for Khuhro who came to ask him to sign a resolution on education.

The female MPAs were dressed to the nines in pearls, diamonds and gold with Michael Kors and Coach bags to carry their essentials. Many wore high heels while some were in ballet flats. Sharmila Farooqi wore pink and kept walking in and out of the session. She sat next to Kulsoom Chandio, who was one of the first MPAs to arrive. Also in attendance were daredevil rally driver and MPA Nadir Magsi, PPP's Manzoor Wassan, Sikandar Mandhro and PML-Q's Irfanullah Marwat.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2014.