Derogatory remarks against parliament: Sindh PA passes resolution against Imran, Sh Rashid

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly has passed a resolution condemning PTI Chairman Imran Khan and AML chief Sheikh Rashid for their recent derogatory remarks against the Parliament and demanded apologies from both the politicians for their “offensive and abusive words.” The provincial assembly hall echoed with slogans of “Imran Khan pe laanat beshumar” (several curses on Imran Khan) on Monday when the resolution condemning was jointly presented by PPP MPA Ghazala Sial and Muttahida Qaumi Movement MPA Zafar Kamali. The lawmakers from both the treasury and the opposition benches supported the resolution with the exception of the obvious three PTI MPAs.

PTI's Khurram Sher Zaman, Samar Ali Khan and Dr Seema Zia tried to defend their leader but Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani didn’t allow them to speak and ordered switching off of their mikes, arguing they would not be allowed to support the abusive and derogatory remarks by their leaders against the Parliament.

In hermotion, PPP MPA Ghazala said Imran’s remarks against the Parliament are condemnable and added the people of Pakistan would not vote for such people who insult their elected representatives and assemblies. She said Imran even insulted the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his own party is in power.

MQM’s Zafar Kamali, the other mover of the resolution, said that Imran Khan has always insulted the Parliament despite receiving monthly salary and all the perks and privileges from it. “Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid are both uncivilised persons and their remarks against the Parliament prove their ignorance,” he said.

MQM’s Syed Sardar Ahmed said Imran and Sheikh Rashid insulted a prestigious institution, which provided the Constitution. Stating that cursing the Parliament is tantamount to cursing “one’s own mother”, the MPA said both the political leaders should quit the assemblies and do some other business.

Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro claimed that Imran Khan used derogatory remarks at the provocation of Sheikh Rashid, who first cursed the Parliament and then Imran followed him. He said the PPP has sacrificed scores of lives, faced jail terms and its leaders and workers sacrificed precious years of their lives for democracy and the restoration of Parliament, adding nobody would be allowed to curse and abuse the Parliament.

Later, the house passed the condemnation resolution with majority votes while PTI lawmakers protested against the move. Zaman, Samar Ali Khan and Dr Seema rejected the resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly and while defending Imran said their leader cursed those who tried to amend the blasphemy law and voted for a disqualified person to lead a party.

“Today PPP has showed its real dark face to the people of Sindh because it never passed a resolution when the blasphemy law was being amended or when the Sindh Assembly speaker spoke of urinating on people’s votes,” Zaman said. He claimed that all the PPP MPAs and the house speaker are afraid of PTI’s three lawmakers for their honesty and truthfulness.

‘Thar children not dying of malnutrition’ Separately, Minister for Health Dr Sikandar Mandhro claimed that children in Tharparkar are not dying because of malnutrition. Responding to a calling attention notice by Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who claimed that 300 children had died in Tharparkar due to malnutrition, during the last few months, the health minister conceded that Thari children’s weight at birth is lower as compared to the children in other parts of the country and that they die within a few months of their birth, but he insisted that malnutrition is not the cause. The government is making efforts to curb child marriages and bringing the birth rate down in the area, Mandhro said.

Moreover, the Sindh Assembly deferred the debate on the province’s water crisis till the next assembly session due to shortage of time, while a bill regarding establishing a law university was also deferred after which Speaker Durrani prorogued the session.

PPP against extrajudicial killings

Meanwhile, talking to reporters before the start of the session, Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the PPP is against extrajudicial killings and it condemns such murders in Karachi.

Referring to the Naqeebullah Mehsud murder case, Shah said the Sindh government has constituted an inquiry committee comprising “good officers” and said that by not appearing before the inquiry committee, SSP Rao Anwar is making a mistake as nobody is above the law. “All police officers involved in the alleged extrajudicial killing have been removed and if found guilty, they would be given exemplary punishment,” the information minister said.