MQM stages walkout from PA for second straight day

Party lawmakers irked by deputy speaker’s conduct as she did not allow
them to speak on police’s clash with protesters in Orangi Town last month

The lawmakers of the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement staged a walkout from the provincial assembly for the second consecutive day on Friday after the deputy speaker turned down the party MPAs’ request to speak on police’s clash with protesters in Orangi Town last month.

At the beginning of the proceedings, MQM lawmakers Muhammad Hussain Khan and Saifuddin Khalid requested to speak on their points of order but deputy speaker Syeda Shehla Raza refused to let them speak. The deputy speaker then commenced the question hour pertaining to the health department.

After the question hour finished, MPA Saifuddin Khalid again sought permission to raise the issue of the Orangi Town clash, but Raza again turned down his request. Agitated, the MQM lawmaker staged a token walkout from the House.

Later, the House considered MQM MPA Muhammad Hussain’s call-attention notice on the Orangi Town incident. Khalid again requested to speak. The MPA said he wanted to reveal discrepancies in the police report on the incident presented by parliamentary affairs minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro in the House.

This time, the deputy speaker turned off Khalid’s microphone.

Raza said that she could not discharge her duties with an MPA continuously violating rules and pressuring her.

Khalid retorted that he did not wish to remain in an assembly where he could not raise the issues faced by the residents of his constituency.

The deputy speaker told the MPA to mend his attitude or leave the House otherwise she would be compelled to take extreme action against him as prescribed in the rules of the assembly.

MQM’s Muhammad Hussain too also wanted to speak further on his call-attention notice on the Orangi incident but his request too also turned down by Raza.

Hussain strongly reacted, describing the deputy speaker’s attitude towards opposition lawmakers as biased. He said the opposition lawmakers were left with no choice but to stage a walkout to protest against the deputy speaker’s unfair conduct. On Hussain’s call, members of his party staged a walkout from the House.

Speaking later, parliamentary affairs minister Nisar Khuhro said opposition lawmakers staging walkouts so frequently was unjustified and it would be better if they remained present in the House at the time of legislation.

MQM lawmakers had staged a walkout on Thursday too against the speaker’s decision to summarily reject a privilege motion moved by a party MPAs without due consideration by the House.

Khuhro said the speaker was empowered to reject any privilege motion if they believed it was in violation of the rules of the assembly’s procedure.

He suggested that the deputy speaker should invite all parliamentary party leaders to her chamber to brief them about the procedures governing the proceedings of the assembly.

The deputy speaker said she wanted the issues of the assembly sorted out through consultation, rapprochement and in accordance with the rules.

Raza added that she was ready to listen to anybody in her chamber having objections on the conduct of the proceedings.

 

Orangi incident

Earlier, Khuhro informed the house that armed people were present among the protesters when they clashed with police in Orangi Town on February 19.

Responding to MQM’s MPA Muhammad Hussain call-attention notice, the minister said one person was killed and many others were injured in the clash.

He maintained that among the protesters, some troublemakers were present possessing unlicensed weapons. He said that police had to spring into action whenever there was a violent protest and use any means available to them to disperse them.

Khuhro said the government had ordered an inquiry into the incident and an FIR too had been lodged by police.

Speaking on his call-attention notice, Hussain said the police had fired gunshots at Orangi Town’s innocent citizens, who had taken to the streets against frequent robberies and street crimes in the area.

He added that the police baton-charged the protesters and also opened fire on them.

The MPA said an elderly man was killed by the police and 45 others were injured. Several others were arrested. He added that so far no action had been taken against the policemen responsible for the brutality.

 

Pashtun issue

In his call-attention notice, opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman drew the attention of the government to the harassment of Pashtuns living in Karachi. He said the authorities concerned were victimising Pahstuns under the garb of operation against Afghan immigrants illegally living in the city.

The opposition lawmaker said Pashtuns were being rounded up almost every day and police later set free after taking money from them.

He said the Sindh government should take strict action against the authorities responsible involved in harassing Pashtuns.

He recalled that it was the Pakistan People’s Party whose lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had moved a resolution against the unjust action against Pashtuns living in Punjab and the PTI had supported it.

“There are five million Pashtuns living in Karachi,” he pointed out.

Responding to the call-attention notice, Khuhro said Pakistan was facing the challenge of terrorism and for the upcoming population census in the province, it was necessary to take steps to ensure illegal immigrants were not counted.

He added that the crackdown was launched against illegal Afghan and Bengali settlers and nobody was harassing Pashtuns.

“The authorities are taking action indiscriminately against illegal immigrants.”

The House passed into law the government’s Sindh Livestock Breeding Bill, 2016 in the light of the report of the standing committee on livestock and fisheries. The bill is aimed at the regulation of livestock breeding in the province.