In session: Sindh Assembly condemns Model Town incident

The Sindh Assembly passed a resolution condemning the brutal force used by the Punjab police in Model Town, Lahore, which left several people dead and injured. The two separate resolutions that were moved were presented by Pakistan Peoples Party’s Sharmila Faruqui and Muttahida Quami Movement’s Khwaja Izharul Hassan. The resolution was adopted by the assembly and they demanded the Punjab government to take immediate action against those involved along with providing medical treatment to those injured in the incident.

The opposition members - Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz and Pakistan Muslim League - Functional, did not vote. Shaharyar Mahar, the leader of the opposition, asked why the Sindh government was focusing on the incident in Model Town when there were human rights violation, extra-judicial killings and other horrific incidents happening in Sindh. He added that the Punjab government had formed a judicial commission and they should wait for their findings before creating further controversy.

The discussion on the resolution put PML-N’s Irfanullah Marwat and PPP’s Nisar Khuhro at logger heads. Khuhro went on to criticise another member of Marwat’s party - Abid Sher Ali, who had not been very happy about the Sindh Assembly passing a resolution against Kalabagh Dam. Marwat responded that the PPP was being unnecessarily critical because he, along with other PML-F MPAs had also voted against the dam.

MQM MPAs also submitted two resolutions condemning remarks made by the federal minister of railways against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and the attack on their MNA in Lahore but the resolutions could not be passed as the speaker promised the MPAs to take up both resolutions after winding up the budget sessions.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2014.