KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday fell into pandemonium from an exchange of strong verbal clash between treasury and the PTI lawmakers, as ruling PPP demanded for removal of the Irsa chairman.

Sohail Anwar Siyal, Sindh Irrigation Minister, attempted to a fistfight with a PTI legislator while giving a statement against Irsa chairman for “throwing books on Sindh’s member”. Siyal slammed the Irsa chairman for “disrespecting” its member from Sindh, showing anger on a water crisis hitting his province. “I strongly condemn the contempt of Sindh’s member in Irsa,” he voiced anger in the house, saying that “at the Irsa meeting books were thrown on the face of Sindh’s member today”.

Sindh Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the Irsa chairman should be sacked and voiced concerns over the “contempt” of Sindh’s member. “Excesses against Sindh’s member cannot be tolerated,” he said that “we demand for removal of Irsa chairman”. He questioned the Irsa chairman’s act of throwing the books on Sindh’s member.

Ruling PPP’S member, Riaz Shah Sherazi claimed that his electoral area is faced with an acute water shortage, saying “we don’t have water to bath our dead”. He alleged the Irsa for “lies” that water is wasted into sea. He said chairman Irsa should be sacked.

PPP’S Shabbier Bijarani asked the federal government to probe into the water spillage from Chashma Link Canal and Taunsa Panjnad Canal in current normal circumstances. According to the water as accord, he said, these canal spillways could only be opened if there is a flood like situation. He termed the opening of these canals “illegal”.

Bilal Ghaffar of PTI, meantime, retorted to a remark of a minister, who he did not name, that “we don’t fear of threats”. He said that a minister had bullied the opposition during the assembly sitting the other day. “We are more loyal to Sindh,” he told the house.

Bilal Ghaffar’s comments unleashed a noisy chaos in the house as Siyal made an attempt to run towards him for a hit but failed. The house descended into mayhem with no one’s control. The Speaker thus was compelled to put off the session until Friday afternoon.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021