Rogue elements were killing people in Karachi while police were murdering people in rural areas, he said.

He asked how law and order could be maintained when the “killer” of a farmer, Rasool Bux Brohi, SSP Chaudhry Aslam, was given the task of leading the Lyari operation where he murdered more innocent people.

Initiating debate on Sindh budget 2012-13, the PPP legislator spoke in a bitter tone, which alerted some ministers present in the House.

His relentless criticism of the performance of his party-led government made the law minister to take note of his speech while several legislators started thumping their desks to support the grievances of Pitafi.

Pitafi told the PPP lawmakers in the House that “you may have sweated, but my family has shed their blood for the party”.

He told the party legislators that they were just boys when he was a jail mate of Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in their struggle for the restoration of democracy.

Pitafi said that no one was listening to the chief minister. For over four years, not a single uplift scheme had been earmarked for his constituency of Mirpur Mathelo, he added.

He said the Ghotki district contributed Rs8.5 billion as GST on services to the province.

Pitafi said the multinational corporations had been working in Daharki, but they were not playing any role in the social sector. Even a tractor driver who worked in the gas fields being operated by MNCs belonged to Punjab, he said.

He said two gas fields were located in his constituency from where gas was being provided to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but not a single village of surrounding areas was provided the facility of gas. The same was the situation that had compelled the people of East Pakistan to seek independence, he said. Pitafi said the law and order situation was not bad only in Karachi, but lawlessness had also gripped other parts of the Sindh province.

In a choked voice, the PPP legislator said that when his son was murdered, he had attached great hopes with his party’s government that it would provide justice to him, but the killers of his son were roaming freely.

Pitafi said he, along with revenue minister Jam Mehtab, had called on the home minister twice, but no action was taken to arrest the killers of his son. He asked if justice could be provided to the ordinary people when even an MPA was deprived of it.

Industries minister Rauf Siddiqi said industries and commerce could only be promoted when peace was restored. He said if concrete steps were not taken to stop killings, a “civil war” could erupt.

Zakat minister Sajid Jokhio demanded of the government to construct small dams in Malir which would help vegetable and fruit farming in the city. Katchi Abadis minister Nadeem Bhutto said Rs100m was reserved for 16 water supply schemes, which was not sufficient. He said during last one and half month, 40 murders had been committed in his constituency in Karachi. Bhutto demanded committees at local level to curb crimes.

NPP’s Masroor Jatoi said instead of establishing school in each village, education complexes should be set up.

He said canals should be lined to prevent water-logging and save more water.

He demanded repairing of embankments before monsoon.

PPP’s Ghulam Qadir Chandio urged the government to start releasing uplift funds from July so that the schemes could be completed on time.

He said it would be better if jobs were provided on merit.

Chandio said the federal government had recently imposed a ban on provision of gas to villages in Sindh and urged the provincial government to take up this issue.

MQM’s Naheed Begum said target of agriculture income tax was fixed at Rs500m in the outgoing financial year, which was revised to Rs300m but over Rs17 crores were received.

She said inflation had gone up by 220pc in the last four years while investors were leaving the country due to lawlessness.