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PPP govt comes under fire in PA for showing ‘apathy’ towards dog-bite victims in Sindh

By Azeem Samar
November 19, 2019

The opposition legislators of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Monday vociferously protested in the Sindh Assembly over an alarming increase in dog-bite cases, and their agitation compelled the deputy speaker to abruptly adjourn the session till Tuesday.

The opposition lawmakers displayed posters and raised slogans to protest against the sheer apathy of the provincial government towards tackling the crisis of stray dogs causing a serious health emergency in the province.

Speaking on a point of order, Leader of Opposition Firdous Shamim Naqvi of the PTI claimed that as many as 196,579 people had been bitten by stray bogs from Larkana to Karachi during the last 10 months.

He expressed remorse over the sheer apathy of the provincial government, stating that no one among the relevant provincial authorities had issued any statement on the issue. He said the apathy of the government had even persisted after the recent tragedy of a minor boy, Hasnain, belonging to Larkana. He said that the six-year-old boy had been attacked by several dogs in Larkana.

The posters displayed by the PTI’s legislators contained slogans asking the government to be ashamed of itself for not doing anything to tackle the issue of stray dogs and for its failure to provide vaccines to the health centres of the province for treating dog-bite patients.

During ruckus in the house, the parliamentary party leader of the PTI in the house, Haleem Adil Sheikh, complained to the chair that MPA Sharjeel Inam Memon of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party had not been letting the opposition leader speak during the session on the issue of dog-bite cases.

Later, talking to newsmen after the session was adjourned, the opposition leader said that the government was responsible for the alarming increase in the dog-bite cases in the province.

“In case the Sindh government is eligible enough, then it should act to get the people rid of the issue of dogs as otherwise we will act on our own to get Sindh rid of these dogs,” he said.

He added that some 23 people had lost their lives due to dog-bites this year, but the Sindh government had been showing sheer apathy towards this issue. He deplored that the latest victim of dog-bite, six-year-old Hasnain, could not get treatment in his hometown, Larkana.

Industrial development

Sindh Industries Minister Ikramullah Dharejo said that the process of industrial development in the province had been slowed down much due to the non-cooperation of the federal government.

Responding to a call-attention of an opposition legislator of the MQM, Rabia Khatoon, he said that business activities in country had not been promoted during the last one-and-a-half years.

He said the process of industrialisation had also been affected due to the issue of power loadshedding.

The Sindh government continued to establish industrial zones in the province, but the federal government had not been rendering necessary support in this regard, much to the suffering of businessmen, he added.

He said that prospective investors had not been willing to invest in the country.

Speaking on her call-attention notice, the opposition legislator said the government had not been establishing cottage industries despite having spare land in the industrial zones of the province. She said negative activities were being promoted among the youth due to lack of industrialisation in Sindh where fewer jobs had been created for them.

Committee on IRSA

The house formed a seven-member committee on a privilege motion of PPP lawmaker Ghulam Qadir Chandio against the Indus River System Authority for not acting upon a resolution earlier passed by the house on the issue of an hydro-electric power plant on the Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal.

Speaking on his privilege motion, the PPP legislator said the chairman of IRSA did not give any importance to the resolution passed by the house. He said that IRSA had been continuously showing contempt towards the people of Sindh. He urged the chair to ask the IRSA chairman to appear before the privileges committee of the Sindh Assembly.