22:33
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Karachi
Fireworks are likely at the Sindh Assembly over the passing of the highly contentious Sindh People’s Local Government Act 2012 as the session is scheduled to get underway on Thursday morning (today).
According to order of the day, the transport department’s performance would come under scrutiny during the question-hour and later, an MQM lady legislator will take oath for the seat that fell vacant after the disqualification of Nadia Gabol for holding dual nationality. The legislators will be told that Governor Sindh has given his nod of approval to the recently passed Sindh Peoples Local Government Act 2012, while the PML-F, NPP, ANP and PML-Q Likeminded Group were expected to protest against the law
Meanwhile, the estranged allies of the PPP publically announced that they were not given the status of opposition thus far. They questioned why the resignations of special assistants and advisors were accepted and those of ministers — especially those from the PML-F — were not. The estranged allies said a protest would be lodged against the fact that they were not allotted seats on opposition benches.
Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the PML-F would be allotted opposition benches when the resignations of their ministers were accepted and notified. MPAs would also be informed that Governor Sindh had also given assent to the Jinnah Sindh Medical University Act 2012.
Shamim Bano adds: The MPAs belonging to the political parties that have left the ruling coalition might boycott the provincial assembly session if they are not allotted seats on the opposition benches.
“However, the final decision will be made at the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) meeting on Thursday morning,” party leader Jam Madad Ali told The News on Wednesday.
Ali said the government would be pressured to allot opposition seats to the estranged MPAs and if it refused to do so, they would boycott the session.
“We are sticking to our stand and will not compromise on the issue of the local government law, which is aimed at dividing Sindh.”
The MPAs of the PML-F and the National People’s Party (NPP) and one belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), allies of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, had tendered their resignations to the assembly secretariat following the passage of the Sindh People’s Local Government Ordinance 2012.
They had submitted a joint requisition seeking opposition benches in the House.
A heated debate is expected in the session as neither has the government accepted their resignations, nor have they been allotted seats on the opposition benches. .
The former allies are also expected to take up the issue of the ongoing violence in Karachi that has claimed several lives.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded (PML-LM) of former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim - having four members, Abdul Razzak Rahimoon, Arbab Zulfiqar, Chetan Mal and Nazar Pathan - is already in the opposition.
If the seats are allotted, the number of opposition members in the 168-seat House would increase to 18. Two Awami National Party members have also quit the government. The PML-F has eight MPAs, NPP has three and Shaharyar Mahar of the PML-Q has joined the estranged partner against his party’s policy. The other MPAs of the PML-Q are still part of the government.
At the last meeting of the PML-F, party chief Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi had nominated Nusrat Sehar Abbasi as the opposition leader in the provincial assembly.
This decision was opposed by the PML-LM, which wanted its chief, Rahim, appointed as the opposition leader.
Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the provincial assembly speaker, had categorically said Rahim could not be appointed as the opposition leader, as the majority of his party members did not back his candidature. He had also argued that Rahim’s continuous absence from the assembly sessions also disqualified him for the position.
PML-LM spokesperson Arbab Zulfiqar said the PPP was reluctant to appoint Rahim as the opposition leader because under the 20th Constitutional Amendment, the government had to put in place a caretaker set-up before the general elections in consensus with the opposition leader.
The PML-F had two ministers, Jam Madad Ali and Dr Rafiq Bhaban; and two advisers, Imtiaz Ali Shaikh and Naseer Nizamani, who had resigned from the provincial government.
The other six MPAs include Nusrat Abbasi, Marvi Rashdi, Ali Ghulam Nizamani, Rahim Bux Bozdar, Qazi Shamsuddin Rajan and Abdul Sattar Rajput.
Fireworks are likely at the Sindh Assembly over the passing of the highly contentious Sindh People’s Local Government Act 2012 as the session is scheduled to get underway on Thursday morning (today).
According to order of the day, the transport department’s performance would come under scrutiny during the question-hour and later, an MQM lady legislator will take oath for the seat that fell vacant after the disqualification of Nadia Gabol for holding dual nationality. The legislators will be told that Governor Sindh has given his nod of approval to the recently passed Sindh Peoples Local Government Act 2012, while the PML-F, NPP, ANP and PML-Q Likeminded Group were expected to protest against the law
Meanwhile, the estranged allies of the PPP publically announced that they were not given the status of opposition thus far. They questioned why the resignations of special assistants and advisors were accepted and those of ministers — especially those from the PML-F — were not. The estranged allies said a protest would be lodged against the fact that they were not allotted seats on opposition benches.
Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that the PML-F would be allotted opposition benches when the resignations of their ministers were accepted and notified. MPAs would also be informed that Governor Sindh had also given assent to the Jinnah Sindh Medical University Act 2012.
Shamim Bano adds: The MPAs belonging to the political parties that have left the ruling coalition might boycott the provincial assembly session if they are not allotted seats on the opposition benches.
“However, the final decision will be made at the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) meeting on Thursday morning,” party leader Jam Madad Ali told The News on Wednesday.
Ali said the government would be pressured to allot opposition seats to the estranged MPAs and if it refused to do so, they would boycott the session.
“We are sticking to our stand and will not compromise on the issue of the local government law, which is aimed at dividing Sindh.”
The MPAs of the PML-F and the National People’s Party (NPP) and one belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), allies of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, had tendered their resignations to the assembly secretariat following the passage of the Sindh People’s Local Government Ordinance 2012.
They had submitted a joint requisition seeking opposition benches in the House.
A heated debate is expected in the session as neither has the government accepted their resignations, nor have they been allotted seats on the opposition benches. .
The former allies are also expected to take up the issue of the ongoing violence in Karachi that has claimed several lives.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded (PML-LM) of former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim - having four members, Abdul Razzak Rahimoon, Arbab Zulfiqar, Chetan Mal and Nazar Pathan - is already in the opposition.
If the seats are allotted, the number of opposition members in the 168-seat House would increase to 18. Two Awami National Party members have also quit the government. The PML-F has eight MPAs, NPP has three and Shaharyar Mahar of the PML-Q has joined the estranged partner against his party’s policy. The other MPAs of the PML-Q are still part of the government.
At the last meeting of the PML-F, party chief Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi had nominated Nusrat Sehar Abbasi as the opposition leader in the provincial assembly.
This decision was opposed by the PML-LM, which wanted its chief, Rahim, appointed as the opposition leader.
Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the provincial assembly speaker, had categorically said Rahim could not be appointed as the opposition leader, as the majority of his party members did not back his candidature. He had also argued that Rahim’s continuous absence from the assembly sessions also disqualified him for the position.
PML-LM spokesperson Arbab Zulfiqar said the PPP was reluctant to appoint Rahim as the opposition leader because under the 20th Constitutional Amendment, the government had to put in place a caretaker set-up before the general elections in consensus with the opposition leader.
The PML-F had two ministers, Jam Madad Ali and Dr Rafiq Bhaban; and two advisers, Imtiaz Ali Shaikh and Naseer Nizamani, who had resigned from the provincial government.
The other six MPAs include Nusrat Abbasi, Marvi Rashdi, Ali Ghulam Nizamani, Rahim Bux Bozdar, Qazi Shamsuddin Rajan and Abdul Sattar Rajput.
Posted in: Karachi News
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