Balochistan Assembly: Legislators have no time for lawmaking

Only four assembly members turn up to attend session.

QUETTA: Embroiled in petty controversies and politicking and least concerned about public issues, only four lawmakers, out of a total 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly, turned up to attend a scheduled assembly session on Saturday.

Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha, who was conducting the proceedings, hastily adjourned the session after he found that except for Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, Tariq Bugti, Ainullah Shams and Shoaib Nausherwani no legislator turned up to attend the session.

Political observers question the wisdom of spending tens of millions of rupees on lawmakers who are least interested in the law-making business.

“Balochistan is facing a slew of crises, particularly pertaining to the law and order situation and the provincial assembly is the most appropriate forum to discuss the issues and evolve a strategy to resolve those problems,” Aslam Bizenjo, the irrigation minister, told reporters, calling behaviour of lawmakers as irresponsible.

Nausherwani said it would leave a negative impact on the current volatile situation in Balochistan because Saturday’s session was important and a PML-Q member was going to move an adjournment motion to condemn the bomb attack on the governor’s convoy.

On his part, PPP lawmaker Ali Madad Jatak demanded dissolution of the assembly. “I have been drawing attention towards the obvious lack of interest of the members for the past several months. It is the provincial government’s inefficiency that they were unable to run the affairs smoothly,” he added.

“I would like to make a sincere appeal to the president to dissolve the assembly and order fresh elections to allow sincere representatives to replace the present lot,” Jatak said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2010.