Former chief minister receives Rs 1.9 million salary for not attending Assembly sessions!

Self-exiled, MPA, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, has received more than 1.9 million rupees of Sindh's exchequer in the head of salaries, despite not attending even a single day of Sindh Assembly's session, Business Recorder has learnt on Tuesday.
After the general election which held on February 18, 2008, the 168 elected MPAs had joined incumbent legislature on April 5, 2008 and on April 4, of this year, now the Sindh Assembly would complete its four years. Chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Likeminded Arbab Ghulam Rahim had also won PS-60 Tharparkar election and became MPA.
The former chief minister, Sindh, Arbab Rahim had left the country and settled in UAE. After a bad experience with him when a PPP worker Agha Javaid Pathan had hit to his head with a shoe in the premises of Sindh Assembly, some time back. After this incident, Arbab Ghulam Rahim had never come back in country and nor attended any session of provincial assembly but he received his salary regularly of MPAship.
Sources inside the Sindh Assembly told BR that every MPA is getting about Rs 41,000 as monthly salary and almost all MPAs received 47 salaries during the current tenure of assembly. Similarly, Arbab Rahim has also received more than Rs 1.9 million as salaries of 47 months, sources added.
PPP and its allies in Sindh Assembly accepted Arbab's leave application during the last more than three and half years and he had been made eligible to get the salary of MPA, sources said. Now, PPP and its allies in provincial assembly have refused to accept Arbab's leave application, because he had put PML-L's three candidates in recently Senate election.
As a result, PPP, MQM and PML-F candidates have failed to elect unopposed, sources said. During the present session of assembly, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has submitted leave applications stating that "he was in Dubai and was not feeling well; his doctor has advised him not to travel by air". The application submitted through his party MPA Abdul Razzaque Rahimoon.
But, lawmakers from all parties including PPP, MQM, PML-F refused to approve the leave applications and the matter still hangs in balance. Sources also hinted that Rahim may loose his provincial assembly membership if his leave application is not granted for an extra period of over three weeks. According to Sindh Assembly's Rules of Business, "If a member remains absent without leave of the assembly for 40 consecutive days of its sitting, the speaker shall issue notice of the assembly and thereupon any member who has been absent so long be declared as a vacant seat".