No-confidence motion against Shehla likely

Opposition lawmakers are likely to move a no-confidence motion against Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Syeda Shehla Raza of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) during the current session of the House to protest against her “uncalled for and unreasonable attitude towards the Opposition”.

The intention of the Opposition legislators came to the fore after Monday’s sitting of the Assembly was adjourned. Earlier, lawmakers had caused uproar as the Opposition vociferously protested against the “attitude of the deputy speaker towards them” while chairing the session.

After Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi walked out of the House expressing resentment against the chair, other Opposition lawmakers caused a racket with their angry protests.

Nusrat had first pointed out to the chair the lack of quorum in the House during the question hour, but her call was ignored by Shehla.

Later, Nusrat protested that questions submitted by the lawmakers to the assembly secretariat some three to four years ago were unduly brought to the House in the question hour, as they had obviously become invalid by now.

Talking to the media at the assembly building after the sitting, Nusrat claimed that three Opposition political parties in the House – the PML-F, the PML-Nawaz and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – had reached consensus to move a no-confidence motion against Shehla, while efforts were afoot for gaining the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) as well.

She said the three Opposition parties of the House were determined to move a no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker even if the motion in question had no chance of succeeding.

“The MQM-P is not supporting us on this issue. We don’t know what is going on between the MQM-P and the PPP, but the attitude of the former is deplorable in this regard.”

She said the deputy speaker had always run the House in a partial manner by demonstrating her bias against the Opposition, adding that the case was the same when the Assembly’s proceedings began on Monday.

Nusrat said the Opposition political parties in the House would hold a meeting on Tuesday to decide when to move the no-confidence motion in the Assembly.

Interestingly, even if the MQM-P were to decide supporting the no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker, the motion has dismal chances to sail through the House because the ruling PPP enjoys a comfortable majority.