Despite holding five meetings, Sindh Assembly's Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges could not decide any of the five privilege motions, including one against Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. This important committee has been dysfunctional for the past four years. PPP lawmaker Ghulam Mujadid Isran was made its chairman in March 2012.
This committee held its maiden meeting on May 10 this year, in which five privilege motions were on its agenda. The privilege motions included: one tabled by PPP MPA Imran Zafar Laghari against PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, another by Pir Mazharul Haq against PML-F lawmaker Marvi Rashdi, Javaid Shah's motion against Rangers' personnel, one tabled by Dr Zulifqar Mirza against an Editor of an English daily and another by Nawab Taimoor Talpur against Suhail Akbar Shah, ACS, home department. The committee held three more meetings on May 14, 21 and 29 but nothing was decided in any of the meetings. Ghulam Mujadid Isran chaired the fifth meeting on Thursday. It was attended among others by Imran Zafar Laghari, Pir Mazharul Haq, Marvi Rashdi, Javaid Shah, Nawab Taimoor Talpur, Fasseh Shah.
On the advice of Pir Mazhar, the committee's chairman asked reporters to leave the committee room. Previously, media persons were allowed to stay during the entire proceedings. The committee decided to meet again on June 25 to take up all privilege motions, sources attending the meeting told Business Recorder. Committee members are said to have reviewed the reply filed by PML-N leaders on behalf of Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The reply was not acceptable to all members of the committee, sources said.
Sources said that Imran Zafar Laghari urged the committee to allow the privilege motion to be tabled in the current session of the Sindh Assembly, but the committee refused his plea, giving a final chance to the PML-N leader. Later, sources said that Marvi Rashdi explained her position on the privilege motion of Pir Mazharul Haq, saying that she had not breached Pir Mazhar's privilege, adding that she had solid documents against him.
According to Pir Mazhar's motion, on April 27 this year, Syeda Marvi Rashidi on a point of order before this Augusts House levelled false allegations against "me and my wife falsely alleging that my wife was promoted illegally on favouritism and posted as an Additional Secretary (Academic), Education Department". Moreover, the committee could not take up privilege motions tabled by Javaid Shah, Dr Zulifqar Mirza and Nawab Taimoor Talpur, sources concluded.