MNCs exploring coal fields urged to employ locals: Sindh Assembly passes resolution

The Sindh Assembly on Thursday passed a key private resolution with a unanimous vote, demanding of the federal government to ask all multinational companies, which are exploring coal fields and carrying out uplift schemes in the province to comply with agreements about employing local people.
Overall the provincial legislators also voted to adopt a resolution naming Sukkur airport after late Nusrat Bhutto during the 18th sitting of 32nd session, which Speaker Nisar Khuhro chaired, with allowing introduction of two bills, on private members day. The resolution, which was forwarded by MQM's Muhammad Adil Khan also demanded for report presentation in the house about companies working in the coal fields of the province. He said, according to Dr Samar Mubarakmand, there was a shortage of funds which the coal development projects were facing. He also demanded of the government to inject more capital to execute the much needed projects.
A resolution, which Sindh Law Minister had tabled also, received a unanimous vote to replace the Sukkur airport name with late Nusrat Bhutto. According to the resolution, the Sindh Assembly should ask the federal government to name the Sukkur airport after Nusrat Bhutto. He said Ms Bhutto had rendered huge sacrifices for Pakistan and democracy.
A minority legislator, Khursheed Saleem Khokhar presented an adjournment motion in the house about the dual education system, which was referred to the assembly's concerned standing committee.
According to the resolution, education about the religious scriptures at the academic institutions was a good sign to acquit the students with religions, however Muslims students get extra 20 marks in the Qura'n paper but the minority ones get deprived of the important numbers in their exams.
He said such an examination pattern was causing religious imparity whereas the Article 25 of the Constitution clearly stated that all citizens of the country were equal. Pakistan has also signed the UN charter on the same subject. Through arguments, he succeeded to get his motion admitted in the house, which Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri along with Rafiq Engineer, MQM' Syed Sardar Ahmad supported, who also demanded for equal opportunities in exams to all citizens regardless of their religion, culture, creed and clan.
Khokhar also took back his resolution on uniform education in the province, saying he would reword it and present in the coming session. He said students learning at the government-run schools failed to get high posts and remained to clerical jobs whereas the students of English medium were finding good-salary jobs, and demanding for a uniform system of education.
However, a dispute on the resolution however marred the house proceedings for a while, as Rafiq Engineer, Shazia Marri and Syed Sardar Ahmad objected to the motion, saying the mover was unclear to present his point of view on the issue. Khokhar got annoyed over a question posed by Marri, saying what school his children were studying. He replied to her that then there should be a law that a mover of resolution should tell "who his children's father is". Just uttering these words and Rafiq Engineer promptly rose to ask the chair to expunge the "unparliamentary words" from the records of house proceedings.
The incident also led to a strong-worded exchange between Khokhar and Marri, however he latter apologised to her for his words. Earlier, Sindh Local Government Minister Aga Siraj Durrani told the house that a draft on new local bodies system would be presented in 90 days which the government in consultation with all collation partners had evolved. He said the new system would be far better than those of 1979 and 2001.
A lawmaker of PML-Q, Shaharyar Maher, apologised for his derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Sindh after last session outside assembly building while talking to media. He also said he had sent his resignation to party central leadership to quit the provincial cabinet in protest against the government's anti-Sindh policies. The Speaker latter prorogued the house for indefinite period.