Karachi law and order case: Supreme Court didn't hear Sindh government, argues Qaim

Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, on Thursday regretted the Supreme Court's verdict on recent bloodshed in the city, saying the apex court did not hear the Sindh government on the issue. In the beginning of his speech at the Sindh Assembly session, he also criticised a news channel for misinforming viewers in the wake of the explosion in Abbas Town.
He said the court had ruled without hearing Sindh government's views on the unrest in the city particularly the Sunday's blast. He said police officials reached the spot after the explosion at the scene but were forcefully stopped entering the carnage spot and DSP and other officers were beaten up. "Three Rangers and three police personnel were killed after the explosion," he said, adding "they were murdered. The government is very much alive on the issue," he said.
Despite the gravity of the situation, he said a police contingent was there to help the public. He wondered why people were demanding of the Sindh government to resign, insisting that no one had asked the American government to step down after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After such acts of terrorism, he said, governments always take action against perpetrators, and it was doing so.
Citing his meeting on settling NFC Award in Peshawar, he said a powerful blast in the city had killed over 115 people but none asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to resign. The Supreme Court should have listened to the Sindh government on recent acts of terrorism in the city before holding it responsible for failing to stem violence, he said, adding justice should be done merit on and without any prejudice. "This is disheartening," he said.
He said a TV channel was persistently maligning the government and destabilising the peace process. "Wait for 15 days, you will come to know," he said, adding that people still supported the PPP. "We are taking the issue [unrest] seriously. Patience is needed," he said.
The Chief Minister also said he would make public a report on its five-year performance during the next session on Friday. To a question by PPP's Jam Tamachi Unar on a news report stating that Wapda would recover dues of last several years from consumers via NAB, he said bills were always inflated and fake. Jam Tamachi had requested the Chief Minister to set up a committee to protect "poor consumers" of electricity from the wrath of NAB and Wapda.
He suggested that the government should evolve a mechanism to facilitate "poor consumers" to pay their bills in small tranches without being harassed by authorities. Qaim Ali Shah said Wapda also charged inflated bills from the Sindh government, contending that it owed Rs 20 billion, but after the department concerned approached the federal government on the issue, the amount was reduced to just Rs 3.5 billion.
The house also unanimously passed the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto City University Bill 2013. However, the house deferred the discussion on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Human Resource Research and Development Board Bill, 2013 till Friday on MQM's request. Speaker Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro announced that the Governor Sindh has given assent to 10 bills.
They are: The Sindh Higher Education Commission Bill, 2013, The Sindh Public Procurement (Amendment), 2013, the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Bill, 2013, The Dawood University of Engineering and Technology Bill, 2013. The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law, Karachi 2012, the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Deewan University Bill, 2011, the Qalandar Shahbaz University of Modern Sciences Bill, 2013, the Sindh Revenue Board (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Sindh Arms Bill, 2013 and the Hyderabad Institute of Arts, Sciences and Technology Bill, 2013. The house will now meet on Friday.