Sindh Assembly marks International Women’s Day

KARACHI: Marking the International Women’s Day, the Sindh Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a resolution on the International Women’s Day that stated: “This House celebrates the International Women’s Day 2019 on 08 March to honour the commendable and remarkable contributions of women to uplift the society. This House monumentalizes this day to develop and promote an equitable society by securing their rights. International women day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The international women’s day is observed globally with the motive of women empowerment. This house pays tribute to Mother of the Nation Fatima Jinnah, First Female Prime Minister of the Islamic World Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, Oscar Awardee Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Pakistani Fighter Pilot Martyred Marium Mukhtiar”.

The resolution was moved in the house by an MPA of the ruling Pakistan People's Party Heer Soho and its draft was co-signed by a number of lawmakers on the treasury benches. Besides, the house passed a resolution calling upon the federal government to make its sincerest efforts at the earliest to repatriate to the native country after her release Dr Aafia Siddiqui imprisoned in a jail of the United States of America and serving decades-long sentence there. The resolution was moved in the house by the lone member of opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in Sindh Assembly Syed Abdul Rasheed.

The resolution was presented and passed by the house after the lawmakers of the three main opposition political parties in the house -- namely PTI, MQM Pakistan, and GDA -- had walked out from the assembly after a vociferous protest in the house on the issue of chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee of the Sindh Assembly.

Earlier, opposition lawmakers continued with their vociferous protest in the house against the provincial government’s decision of not offering the chairmanship of the PAC of the Sindh Assembly to the Leader of Opposition in the house.

The protesting lawmakers in the house belonged to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, and the Grand Democratic Alliance. They continued with their protest inside the house while assembling near the rostrum of the speaker. The protesting lawmakers didn’t take part in proceedings of the assembly as they remained busy with their protest campaign until they walked out from the house.

The provincial ministers and other treasury lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan People's Party continued to mock the opposition lawmakers’ protest in the house while saying that no matter how much loud their protest would become inside or outside the assembly, they would not be offered the chairmanship of the PAC by the ruling party come what may.

This was the consecutive fourth sitting of the house whose proceedings were gravely marred due to the vociferous protest by the opposition on the issue of the PAC chairmanship and constitution of the standing committees of the Sindh Assembly.

On Friday again, the opposition legislators resumed their protest inside the house soon after commencement of the session as they didn’t pay heed at all to the items given on the agenda of the assembly despite that a number of things on the agenda were moved by them, including written queries of the Question-Hour and call attention notices.

Later, the Speaker, Agha Siraj Khan Durrani, declared in the house that he would go ahead with the plan to hold elections for the membership and chairmanship of the standing committees of Sindh Assembly to form these committees and the government should propose a date for the purpose.

The speaker made this declaration in view of the demands of the combined opposition regarding composition and chairmanship of the standing committees and PAC of the house. He said that holding the elections for constituting the standing committees of the house would be very much in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Sindh Assembly.

He lamented that the opposition would be the ultimate loser if elections were held to constitute the standing committees as per the procedure for the purpose given in the rules of the assembly as the opposition legislators were in minority in the assembly.

The speaker said that he had tried his best to mediate on the issue of constitution of the standing committees as he made the opposition’s leadership to sit with the Sindh chief minister to hold discussion on this issue so that the opposition could get its due share in the chairmanship of these committees through a process of understanding and rapprochement with the government.

Durrani said that all the demands of the opposition regarding the PAC and other committees of the house were totally illegal and he would not accept them till the time he sat on the chair of the speaker.

He urged the opposition to end their protest campaign, come back to the house, and take part in the proceedings of the assembly as per the aspirations of their voters and for collective good of the province.

He said the entire world had been watching the attitude of the opposition in the house as the proceedings of the assembly were televised live. He said the opposition’s protest campaign didn’t conform to the parliamentary norms.

He said the opposition should resume their participation in the proceedings of the house so that they could play a meaningful role in resolving issues of their respective constituencies and that of the entire province. He censured the protest drive of the opposition in the house, which meant only to secure the chairmanship of the PAC.

The speaker also lamented the incident in the house on Thursday when some of the opposition legislators had attempted to physically attack the MPA of MMA Syed Abdul Rasheed, also sitting on the opposition benches, when he was speaking on his privilege motion.

Durrani said that he would fully respond to all the allegations of the opposition against his own self once he was freed from the captivity of the NAB (National Accountability Bureau). Sindh Local Govt Minister Saeed Ghani also criticised the continued imprisonment of the speaker of Sindh Assembly at the hands of NAB on the alleged charges of corruption in a situation when the accountability watchdog didn’t proceed at all on the allegations and cases pending against leaders of the ruling PTI and its allies.