Sindh Assembly’s session abruptly adjourned: Opposition MPAs protest over Nawabshah tragedy

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly’s session on Monday was abruptly adjourned as the opposition legislators resorted to a vociferous protest in the House against the recent killing of six persons in a tribal clash in Nawabshah.

The vocal protest by the opposition MPAs compelled Speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani to abruptly adjourn the session till Tuesday morning without completing the agenda for the day’s sitting.

Speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mushtaq Ghani was present in the guest’s gallery to witness the proceedings of the Sindh Assembly but he had to leave the legislature’s hall following the disorder during the proceedings.

The speaker remarked that most probably his counterpart belonging to the KP didn’t like the attitude shown by the opposition legislators that was why he had left the House. At the outset of the proceedings, outspoken opposition woman MPA belonging to the Grand Democratic Alliance, Nusrat Seher Abbasi, mentioned that the bereaved tribesmen in Nawabshah had been sitting on road and protesting along with the bodies of the victims of a violent clash.

She prayed that those involved in perpetrating violence against innocent people in the province should face the wrath of God. She wanted to further speak in the House on the violent clash but the speaker didn’t allow her while reminding the opposition MPA that the initial part of the proceedings was only reserved for making requests for praying for the deceased persons.

The opposition legislators belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf held placards and photographs of the victims of the Nawabshah tragedy in the House. The PTI legislators assembled near the rostrum of the speaker and raised slogans against the rulers in the province. The opposition MPAs belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement also joined the protest inside the House.

Answering the queries of the concerned MPAs during the Question-Hour of the sitting, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said the provincial government was purchasing ambulances for hospitals. Leader of Opposition Haleem Adil Shaikh said ambulances had been unavailable in Nawabshah due to which the victims of violent incident weren’t timely transferred to the hospital.

Sindh Parliamentary Affairs’ Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla said the opposition leader had raised an irrelevant issue during the question-hour to waste the precious time of the House. The opposition leader had the desire to further speak on the issue but his microphone was switched off. The denial of opportunity to the opposition leader to speak caused vociferous protest in the House, causing the abrupt adjournment of the session.

Meanwhile, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has separately written a letter to the Inspector General of Sindh Police to express his concern over the Nawabshah tragedy, asking him to order a thorough probe into the clash.