PA session adjourned after furore over Khairpur girl’s murder

The Sindh Assembly’s session on Monday was adjourned after the opposition held a vociferous protest against the recent murder of a teenage girl in District Khairpur.

The legislators claimed that influential people of the area associated with the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were involved in the abduction and the heinous killing of 13-year-old Ramsha Wassan.

MPAs of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan protested against police inaction to arrest her influential kidnappers and murderers.

The issue was first raised in the House by the PTI’s Tahira Dua Bhutto, who urged PA Deputy Speaker Rehana Leghari, who chaired the session, to adjourn the routine proceedings and to allow her to talk about the incident.

Rehana, however, said she would let Tahira speak on the issue on a point of order after finishing the day’s agenda. Rehana said she had already asked another lawmaker to present his adjournment motion as per the agenda, so she could not allow Tahira to raise the issue out of turn.

This prompted the opposition legislators to rise from their seats in Tahira’s support, so she would be allowed to raise the Ramsha murder issue. Rehana reiterated that the House can discuss the incident after finishing the day’s agenda.

Later, after Speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani took over from Rehana, his repeated calls could not persuade the opposition lawmakers to end their protest. The House witnessed an exchange of harsh words between the GDA’s Nusrat Sehar Abbasi and the PPP’s Munawar Wassan, both of whom belong to Khairpur.

PA opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi of the PTI urged Durrani to let the issue be discussed. By the time the speaker was compelled to adjourn the session until 2pm on Thursday, the protesting lawmakers had gathered near his rostrum and were shouting slogans demanding justice for the girl.

Media talks

After the abrupt adjournment of the session, Nusrat told the media that the police had no excuse not to arrest Ramsha’s kidnapper and killer after her mother had identified them.

She said the incident is a test for PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his sisters Aseefa and Bakhtawar. She said that being a Khairpur native and being present in the House, former Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah should not have kept quiet on the issue.

Tahira also criticised the treasury benches for avoiding debate on the issue to protect the influential people involved in the incident. The PPP’s Imdad Pitafi, however, said that as usual, the PTI has been trying to politicise the issue.

Pitafi said the opposition legislators should have listened to the speaker as per the PA decorum. He said the PPP will ensure that the culprits are immediately arrested irrespective of their political affiliation and status, adding that his party will support a PA resolution on the issue.

Earlier, responding to a calling-attention notice of the PTI’s Arsalan Taj, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said inquiries have been initiated against 24 officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) for their involvement in encroachments across Karachi.