Sattar, Khursheed exchange barbs on Sindh CM’s statement

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) exchanged barbs on a statement of Sindh chief minister and staged separate walkouts from proceedings of the National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday.

After walkout of the PPP members against shortage of water in Sindh and alleged injustice in distribution of water among provinces, the chair adjourned proceedings till Thursday morning.

Earlier, the MQM members also walked out from the NA against what they said indecent remarks uttered by the Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah.

Speaking on a point of order, the opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah said that immediate measures were needed to be taken to meet water shortage in Sindh province saying that situation had further deteriorated since Punjab opened link canal.

The opposition leader asked the MQM members to raise issue of water shortage in Karachi as they were representing people of the Sindh province saying that masses were not able to get even drinking water.

He questioned as to why the federal government was silent when the Sindh province was getting barren and Sindhi farmers have been forced to come out on roads.

Nawaz Yousuf Talpur said the people of Sindh demand their rights adding that IRSA should take notice of opening link canal by the Punjab. With these remarks, the PPP members walked out of the House.

Khursheed Shah also expressed concerns over rising political intolerance and regretted the incident in which leader of a political party slapped a setting minister during a talk show on a television channel. “We should respect opinion of others as it is the hallmark of democracy,” he said.

Responding to point of order raised by Farooq Sattar of MQM, Shah said that Karachi was not property of any single party saying it was city of Quaid and capital of Sindh province having unique honour that Pakistan’s flag for the first time was waived here in the Sindh Assembly.

Objecting to remarks of Farooq Sattar against Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the opposition leader that a person who was not member of this house was being targeted. He said that Karachi welcomed refugees and never treated them as refugees saying the PPP considered people of Karachi as Sindhis.

He said the parliament was going to complete its constitutional term and “we should end it with a positive note and tradition rather than promoting hatred”.

He said this House witnessed heated arguments and debates on various issues but no abusive or unparliamentarily language was used. Earlier, Farooq Sattar, leader of the MQM, said Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah should curse himself and his deeds instead of cursing others.

He demanded of Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Zardari to take notice of the language used by Murad Ali Shah and take action against him. “It is highly regretful if Sindh chief minister from floor of the Sindh Assembly hurts feelings of people,” he said.

Farooq Sattar said they neither demanded South Sindh province nor talked of new administrative units but the treatment meted out to people of Karachi was highly condemnable. He recalled that foundation of division in the province was laid by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s quota policy.

He said in the present circumstances when Karachi was facing injustices, it was not wrong to demand a new province to protect rights of the people. “The largest city also faced justices when it came to census and demarcations and that is why only Rs7 billion has been kept for development projects in Karachi,” he said.