Minister shows dissatisfaction over performance of law enforcers

While Sindh Assembly elected the long-awaited standing committees on Monday, Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza showed his dissatisfaction over the performance of law enforcers who, he said, had been notified with a "shoot-at-sight order on display of arms to stem the "pre-planned" ethnic clashes in Karachi.
After a short debate the provincial legislatures also passed two amendment bills into law unanimously to protect public property from encroachment and prevent illegal hunting of certain precious wild animals. The house during the daylong session, which was brought to order by Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza at 11:30am with at least a 90-minute delay, elected some 30 standing committees having 11 members each.
Names of the committees included health; industries and mineral development; local government; education and literacy; finance and inter-provincial co-ordination; home; labour; information technology; agriculture and livestock; SNGA and NDG; Youth affairs and sports; transport; revenue; co-operation; prison; environment, alternative energy and power; culture, tourism and archive; food supply and prices; irrigation; excise and taxation; works and services; forest and wildlife; planning and development; information; law, parliamentary affairs and human rights; public health; katchi abadies and special development and rural development; minority affairs; population welfare and women development; religious affairs and Zakat, Usher and Auqaf.
The house also voted for the formation of a seven-member Public Accounts Committee which, Jam Madad later told a media briefing, should have been given to the opposition in line with PPP's manifesto. The Deputy Speaker also administered oath to Ram Sing Sodo of Pakistan Muslim League-Q as a member of the provincial assembly (MPA).
The treasury members again got disturbed for a while when their party fellow Tariq Masood Arain staged a sit-in in the house and said the government was yet to take action against Bilawal Zardari who had he allegedly grabbed some 100-acre land of Mohammad Sharif Arain for building a housing scheme in the name of Benazir Bhutto in Benazir Bhutto District. The PPP legislature claimed that instead of resolving the issue, DO Ejaz Baloch had cancelled ownership of the disputed land.
While Revenue Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo vowed not to let any illegal activity happen in the name of slain party chairperson, Law Minister Ayaz Soomro chided Arain by saying that he should stop staging a drama. Later, Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza told the house that according to Zardari the disputed land had never belonged to Arain. He said though the matter was sub judice, he would call the two parties and try to resolve the dispute amicably.
With members, like Ayaz Soomro, Shazia Marri, Dr Sagheer Ahmed, Anwar Mehar and Munawar Abbasi condemning violent incidents in Karachi as inhuman and deplorable. Raza Haroon of MQM said the ethnic violence had left nine people killed on Monday's morning only, hundreds others injured, women desecrated, an MQM's MPA and a town nazim attacked etc.
On this Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza rose and told the house that till 8am on Monday only 20 people, 14 Pushtoons and 6 Urdu-speaking, were reported killed, 30 vehicles torched and 90 people had got wounded in different neighbourhoods of the city. Requesting the newsmen to report with authenticity, he said, media had created hype by exaggerating about the casualties took place during the last two days of violence.
Mirza said he had notified the Home Secretary with an order of shoot-at-sight on display of arms irrespective of the possessor's political affiliation. Claiming to arrest over a hundred miscreants, the minister said no one would be allowed to keep private security guards. Showing dissatisfaction over performance of the law enforcement agencies Mirza revealed that 80 percent employment and promotions in his department were on political basis.
Urging the need to have a strong political will, he said the law and order situation could be controlled within six hours through a sincere effort. He said ethnic clashes in Karachi were not an abrupt development and had been fanned in an organised way. He said this was the responsibility of 18 million citizens of this metropolis who should play their role in establishing peace in the city and not some four thousands people from the establishment.
"No arms and fighting on streets... mend your ways and help me," the home minister appealed to the citizens. Syed Sardar Ahmed of MQM said the government was taking necessary measures to establish peace but any "number game" or "blame game" would not work as the miscreants belonged to no one. "They (miscreants) are those who have been planted in the two groups to create anarchy so we should be kept them in sight," he added.
Another MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari, urging the need to identify the "soar points", said Afghan nationals were involved in sabotaging peace of the city in areas, like Sohrab Goth, Banaras Chowk etc. Leader of the Opposition Jam Madad Ali lauding efforts of the government for controlling the law and order situation pledged his all out supports.
Minister for Health Dr Sagheer Ahmed responded to various supplementary questions of the members during the Question-Hour. Later, the assembly by clearing Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and Sindh Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2008, toughened penalties in case of a violation.
Those commented on the two bills included Ayaz Soomro, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Anwar Mehar, Munawar Ali Abbasi, Saleem Khursheed Khokar, Shamma Mithani, Nuzhat Pathan, Bachal Shah, Amanullah Khan Mehsud, Arif Mustafa Jatoi, Abdul Haseeb, Rafique Engineer, Sassui Palejo, Jam Tamachi and others. After election of the standing committees the Deputy Speaker on behalf of Governor Sindh prorogued the house for an indefinite period.