Censure of PML-F hijacks PA agenda

The Sindh Assembly’s agenda for Tuesday was hijacked by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) strong criticism of the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F).

Jam Madad Ali Khan took oath as MPA after winning the recent by-election for PS-81 (Sanghar-IV) on the PPP’s ticket. He had earlier represented the same constituency in the current provincial legislature as a PML-F member, but resigned from his seat to join the ruling party.

With the exception of Khan being sworn in and the question hour on the education department, the House could not complete its agenda on the private members’ day due to the treasury lawmakers’ bitter speeches against the opposition legislators.

PPP MPAs censured the PML-F as part of their congratulatory celebration for Khan, who secured PS-81, which is generally considered a stronghold of the opposition party. The few PML-F lawmakers present on the opposition benches seemed helpless against the fierce snub.

Things got out of hand to the extent that PML-F’s parliamentary leader Nand Kumar had to leave the session, because he could not find the opportunity to defend his party.

The chair did not even give the PML-F’s otherwise vocal Nusrat Bano Sehar Abbasi the chance to speak, leaving no option for her and her party’s Saeed Khan Nizamani other than repeating “shame, shame”.

The treasury lawmakers gave the indication that in the coming days the PML-F was going to lose another of its reserved seats in the House.

During his speech, Commerce & Industries Minister Manzoor Hussain Wassan congratulated Khan on winning the by-poll with a large majority of the votes. He said the result had proved once again that Sanghar’s people supported the PPP.

He claimed that the mandate of Sanghar’s people had always been stolen during the past dictatorial regimes of the country. This time, he added, the by-poll in Sanghar was conducted in the most transparent manner, as the Rangers were also deployed.

Wassan expressed certainty of the PPP clean sweeping the upcoming general elections in the district as well. “Polls held during the regimes of Gen Ziaul Haq, Nawaz Sharif, Jam Sadiq Ali and Gen Pervez Musharraf were won by the opposition due to rigging.”

PPP MPA Nawab Muhammad Taimur Talpur said the numerical strength of the PML-F lawmakers had reduced to the extent that the party could rename itself as the “non-functional league”.

His colleague Fayyaz Ali Butt said that after winning the by-election in Sanghar, the PPP had proved once again that it was equally popular in all the four provinces.

Butt said the PPP’s political opponents were facing a tough time after Asif Ali Zardari addressed a successful rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a number of major gatherings in Punjab.

The party’s Dr Abdul Sattar Rajper said those who backed dictators in the past had lost the election in Sanghar once again. He said the mandate of the people of Sanghar had been stolen in the past by dictators and military rulers.

Some treasury lawmakers did not even spare the PML-F chief, who is the current Pir Pagara and is considered a revered personality because he is the spiritual leader of the Hur community.

While Deputy Speaker Syeda Shehla Raza did not allow any of the opposition legislators in the House to speak, the PML-F’s lawmakers constantly sought permission from the chair to respond to the fiery criticism by treasury MPAs.

She, however, repeatedly advised the PPP MPAs to confine their speeches to congratulating the newly returned Khan and avoid criticising the leadership of the opposition party or maligning any institution.

At one point, Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Izharul Hassan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan also said the treasury benches had the right to celebrate Khan’s victory in the by-elections but, he added, they should not censure the leadership of any party.

He urged Shehla to allow the opposition benches to speak in the House, otherwise it would give the impression of a one-sided show in the legislature as only the treasury MPAs were being allowed to speak. Later, the deputy speaker adjourned the session until Friday.