PA unanimously passes bill to repeal arbitrary dismissal ordinance

KARACHI: With one voice, the Sindh Assembly on Monday passed into law the Sindh Removal from Service (Special Powers) (Repeal) Bill-2017 to curb the provincial authorities’ power to dismiss any government or public servant arbitrarily.

Sindh Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, while stating the aims and objectives of the bill, informed the house that the Removal from Service (Special Powers) Sindh Ordinance 2000 had given unchecked powers to authorities for dismissing any official from service and was often used for vested interests.

He said such powers were against the spirit of the Constitution and law. The law minister said rules pertaining to government servants had already been in place before the ordinance was promulgated and that there was no need at all for the ordinance.

He said the ordinance was promulgated during a dictatorial regime without the parliament’s perusal. The bill in question had empowered the government to review the actions taken under the 2000 Ordinance in light of Sindh Civil Servants Act-1973 and Sindh Civil Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules-1973.  

Saeed Ghani takes oath

Declared successful by the Election Commission of Pakistan on the PS-114 seat following July 9 by-poll, Pakistan People’s Party’s Saeed Ghani took the oath of office amid jubilation and sloganeering of the treasury benches and PPP supports sitting in the visitors’ gallery.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah observed that the PPP on the basis of its exceptional performance would emerge successful not only in Sindh but the entire country in the upcoming 2018 polls.

However, with reference to Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan’s plea to the ECP to declare the PS-114 election null and void over allegations of rigging, Murad lashed out at MQM-P’s Leader Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Khawaja Izharul Hassan. The CM insinuated that the MQM-P had received the direction to file the plea from its founder Altaf Hussain –the MQM-P claims to have severed ties with Hussain following his contentious August 22, 2016 speech.

Citing the resolution the MQM-P lawmakers passed in the assembly to condemn Hussain for his speech, the CM asked the leader opposition to disassociate himself from the party’s founder.

Responding to Hassan’s assertions of PPP buying votes through initiating developmental schemes in the PS-114 constituency, the CM said there was no logic behind the claim that a development scheme duly approved in the annual provincial budget could not be completed in an area witnessing by-poll.

He further clarified that the government cannot begin a new development scheme once an official announcement of the by-poll has been issued.

Murad said that electioneering in PS-114 went on for less than two months and that he stayed away from the constituency during the time. The CM said that he went to the area to greet Ghani only after the result of the by-poll was announced.

He further said the MQM officials elected ministers from the constituency in the 2002 and 2008 general elections could themselves not carry out development work in the area.

He advised MQM’s lawmakers to again venture into the city and seek votes from its people. “It is strange that the losing candidate first greeted the winning candidate but later after 36 hours had passed, lodged a protest against ‘rigging’ in the by-poll. On whose instruction did this happen; perhaps the direction came from London,” Murad suggested.

Ghani also dismissed all allegations of rigging in PS-114 by-poll stating that Rangers personnel were deputed inside and outside all the polling stations.

He said his opponents could not furnish single evidence that proved he had used government’s resources for his campaign; rather, Ghani suggested that his opponent candidates had spent money to buy peoples’ votes.

He claimed that certain people associated with the MQM had helped him out in the campaign but now those people were facing threats. “In such a situation what is the difference between MQM-London and the MQM belonging to Dr Farooq Sattar,” Ghani said.

Opposition Leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan had claimed that water supply to areas from where MQM’s union committee chairmen were elected was stopped.

Hassan said that people of the area would have remained deprived of water supply had it not been for the city mayor and people associated with the district municipal corporations who came to the rescue of the constituency’s residents.

Referring to accusations on PPP for supporting gang-wars, especially in Lyari, Hassan claimed that gang-war was blamed for rigging the PS-114 by-poll and one should explain where that phenomenon came from.

He said that during PPP’s previous rule in the province, people were killed on the basis of their identity cards and that its former home minister not only issued but also confessed to issuing illegal arms’ licenses in large numbers.

The Opposition leader asked the PPP to acknowledge the plight of Larkana and Lyari’s residents before talking about Karachi. “Up to 88 percent of people in Larkana are compelled to consume sewerage water,” Hassan claimed.  

He said the MQM’s candidate would pursue his case in the election tribunal to seek justice for the remaining term of the provincial assembly.

Meanwhile, the House referred to the concerned Standing Committee of the assembly, the Sindh Forensic Science Agency Bill-2017 presented in the session.