The Sindh Assembly was informed on Friday that the provincial government would ensure that no one acted individually in his private capacity to dispense justice in the case of anyone accused of committing blasphemy to protect law and order in the province.
Law and Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar stated this on Friday while stating on behalf of the provincial government on a recent incident in Umerkot where a doctor accused of committing blasphemy was allegedly killed in a police encounter.
Concerned civil society organisations and activists have taken to social media in large numbers, demanding the provincial government conduct an impartial probe into the incident.
The home minister stated on the floor of the house that the Pakistan Peoples Party and its Sindh government had a firm resolve to protect the honour and respect of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as one of the fundamental beliefs of Islam. He said the workers and leadership of the PPP would do their best and render any sacrifice to prevent any blasphemous act.
He, however, told the house that the government would never allow anyone to kill any person extra-judicially. “We are the custodians of the law and order of Sindh as we will fulfil this responsibility to the best of our abilities.”
Lanjar said that any individual in his private capacity lacked the powers of a judge to decide such cases on his own. He told the house that the deceased doctor accused of committing the blasphemy had been having his mental health issues treated since 2020.
He said blasphemous content had been shared from the Facebook account of the deceased. Lanjar said that the law and order situation in Umerkot had been worsening following the alleged blasphemy incident as a police mobile van had been set on fire in the arson acts.
The home minister said that following the alleged blasphemy incident, he had ordered the police to arrest the accused doctor. He added that he had received reports of the killing of the accused in an alleged encounter in Mirpurkhas after his arrest. Lanjar further said he had formed a probe committee the previous night to inquire into the incident. He said the DIG and SSP of Mirpurkhas, the SHO of Sindhri and other responsible police officials were being placed under suspension following the incident. He said these officials would remain suspended till the completion of the inquiry.
Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah told the house that he had a sleepless night following the sorrowful incident in Mirpurkhas. He said that up to 54 per cent of the population in Umerkot comprised people from religious minorities. He said the Islam guarantees complete protection to religious minorities.
Pension scheme
Meanwhile, the house approved a bill to amend the provision of the Sindh Civil Servants Act 1973 to launch the much-awaited contributory pension scheme for the employees of the government.
The new pension scheme will be applicable in the case of new recruitments for the Sindh government afterwards July 1, 2024. Earlier, the Sindh cabinet approved the contributory pension scheme. Under the new plan, the employees will contribute 10 per cent while the government will contribute 12 per cent to the pensions of these personnel upon their retirement. The new scheme will help the Sindh government reduce its expense of billions of rupees every month to pay pensions to its retired employees. The pension expenditure of the government has increased by 30 per cent in the last couple of years.
Textbooks
Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah told the house that the printing machines of the Sindh Textbook Board had become obsolete and were mainly responsible for the delayed availability of textbooks to the students after the start of the academic year.
Responding to a call attention notice, he conceded that the printing of textbooks in Sindh had started this year after a delay. He said that 4.4 million sets of textbooks had been printed against a demand of 4.7 million sets.
He said the proposal to establish a book bank based on the used textbooks of the old students for the new students failed. The call attention pertained to the absence of textbooks in the market and their substandard printing and binding.