Karachi:
The Sindh Assembly continued the general discussion about the provincial budget for the next fiscal year on Friday. Both the members of the Assembly and the provincial ministers participated in the debate, informing the Chamber about the performance of their respective departments and future plans.
During the session, chaired by Vice President Anthony Naveed, concerns were raised about the restrictions on the access of the interim governor to the governor’s chamber.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, informed the Chamber that President Awais Qadir Shah, who has been acting for 22 days, was not allowed to enter the governor’s house or perform his duties.
Lanjhar revealed that Governor Kamran Tessori had sealed the offices and carried the keys of Saudi Arabia, which led the speaker to approach the court, who ordered the offices to be reopened. When reading the court order in the assembly, Lanjar commented sarcastically that, although Tessori claims to open the governor’s house to the public, he is closed to the interim governor of the province.
The minister appealed to the principal minister to take measures against those responsible, according to the orders of the Court.
Former speaker Agha Siraj Durrani criticized Tessori for restricting the interim governor to perform his duties. Durrani declared that the speaker’s authority was disrespected and demanded that Tessori follow the Constitution and apologize to the Sindh Assembly.
The senior parliamentarian Nisar Ahmed Khoror also condemned the governor’s actions, maintaining that the country and the assembly run in accordance with the Constitution. He questioned the governor’s authority about the governor’s chamber, qualifying him as an occupation symbol instead of governance.
He questioned the reasons for the governor, suggesting that the governor’s chamber is not a personal property but a public institution. Khoro demanded that a resolution be approved in the Sindh Assembly to address this problem.
MQM-P MPA Taha Ahmed argued that the incident that involved the interim governor was the result of a misunderstanding and lack of communication. He said the party respects the interim governor’s office and believes that the problem should not be politicized.
He expressed pride of being part of the community that values his inheritance and history. In the same session, Minister Ali Hassan Zardari shed light on the government’s efforts in the development of infrastructure, announcing 48 new schemes in the next budget.
