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Opp takes govt to task over Shikarpur tragedy, petrol crisis
* Khursheed Shah says Nisar didn’t utter even a single word to condemn imambargah attack
By Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the National Assembly on Tuesday criticised the PML-N government on various issues ranging from Shikarpur carnage to petrol crisis and “non-serious attitude” of ministers viz-a-viz parliament. Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah who consumed much of time of proceedings to extensively talk about various issues and lambasted the government over its anti-people policies, which he believed disappointed the masses at large. At the onset, Khursheed Shah again criticized the government for showing apathy towards Shikarpur terrorism act and sentiments of people of Sindh were badly injured when Prime Minister and his ministers didn’t bother to visit to condole with the bereaved families. His criticism particularly targeted Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan and said that he didn’t even condemn the terrorism attack in Shikarpur. “He want to secure Islamabad only but even couldn’t do it when a person namely Sikandar shattered his security arrangements in Islamabad one and half years back”, Shah recalling the Sikandar’s episode in August 2013 remarked when he kept the law enforcing agencies paralyzed for many hours before PPP Zamrud Khan’s action to grab him. Referring to his speech the other day in which he focused on Shikarpur tragedy, Shah said that minister concerned didn’t even utter a single word even after opposition and government allies sought the response from government over this tragic incident. Later Shah took the government to task over petrol crisis after Federal Minister Petroleum & Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi opened the debate on it under a motion in the house. Shah commenting on the petrol shortage in the country last month dubbed it failure of governance and noted that government can’t escape from its responsibility by making four officials scapegoat over this crisis. He also sought the justification over ten percent increase in sales tax on petroleum prices and termed it unconstitutional as the increase was made without the approval of parliament which is constitutionally mandated for imposing the taxes. Opposition Leader pointed out that three federal ministers shifted the blame on each other over this crisis and took exception of their absence from the house when he was talking as Petroleum Minister and Water & Power Minister left the house by that time and Finance Minister didn’t turn up in the house. Shah said that his party wanted to strength parliament and Prime Minister but government seems to pushing them outside the assembly to take to the streets through lack of seriousness on minister’s part towards the house. Shah also dragged Interior Minister even in petroleum debate when he reminded him about his huge claims when he was Leader of Opposition in previous democratic setup that Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) is a Jagga Tax. “Whey this Jagga Tax is being charged on petroleum products when his party is in government and he is senior minister in the cabinet’, Shah questioned. Earlier house witnessed a verbal brawl between Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Sheikah Rasheed Ahmed when former didn’t allow the latter to take the floor. “How can I give the floor to a person who ridiculed the parliament on streets”, Speaker remarked, which triggered exchange of harsh words between the two. Sheikh Rasheed even left his chair to walkout from the house but Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah’s intervention controlled the situation when he asked speaker to five the floor to the member otherwise being leader of opposition he has not justification to sit in the house. “He (Rasheed) even ridiculed me in the speeches”, Shah pointed out and added that he even felt that member should be allowed to speak which paved the way for Sheikh to take the floor. Taking the floor Rasheed called for formation of a religious forum in the country as Sunni-Shia conflict is rising and now the situation came to a point where both are not saying their funeral prayers.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk