Sindh Assembly amends rules to hold online session as COVID-19 cases rise

KARACHI: Sindh Assembly amended its rules on holding a virtual assembly sessions today amid the   coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The amendment in the rules was passed after a consensus making Sindh Assembly the first assembly in the country to make use of technology for its sessions.

The amendment to the rules was presented by Provincial Minister of Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla. According to the new rules, members will be emailed login IDs and they would be able to attend the session while sitting at home or the office.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah while addressing a meeting of the Cabinet  said they did not want those members who were old to attend physical sessions of the assembly. “We want those members who have tested positive to attend the budget session. Speeches can be done while sitting at home through technology and software,” Shah said.

Separately, provincial health minister Azra Fazal Pechuho said decisions are being taken keeping in mind the difficult times ahead.

“All the members and staff will undergo coronavirus tests on Saturday,” she said.

Earlier, Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab had announced that the province would amend its rules on holding virtual assembly sessions.

“Sindh Assembly would be amending its rules today to add a provision allowing for the speaker to hold online sessions of the Assembly in case of emergency or when it is impracticable.” Wahab said in a post on Twitter.

Last month, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry had proposed holding a virtual meeting of the Parliament amid the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

"The Parliament session is necessary but people's health is also necessary," Chaudhry had tweeted.

The federal minister’s suggestion had come after National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had tested positive for the virus alongside his son and daughter on April 30.

Chaudhry said he had earlier proposed a virtual meeting. "We don't go to the Parliament to hug each other; one has to talk, make speeches," he noted.

The Parliament, Chaudhry had said, had a role in the political sphere, which was why it was necessary to call a virtual meeting. Qaiser, the speaker, had earlier announced setting up of special software for the Parliament.

The Opposition parties opposed a virtual meeting of the Parliament and, in turn, resisted the use of technology, he observed.

Several lawmakers in Pakistan have tested positive for the coronavirus including former prime ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Shehbaz Sharif and Marriyum Aurangzeb.

PPP MPA Sharjeel Memon and Minister of State for Narcotics Shehryar Afridi have also tested positive for the virus along with PTI's chief whip in the National Assembly Aamir Dogar.

Previously, many politicians including ANP’s Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, and Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari had tested positive for coronavirus, after which they went into self-isolation and recovered.

PTI Punjab Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shaheen Raza was the first lawmaker in the country to succumb to the virus.

PTI MPA Mian Jamsheduddin Kakakhel from Nowshera and PML-N MPA Shaukat Manzoor Cheema from Gujranwala also passed away earlier this month after being on the ventilator for a few days.

The country has reported more than 144,000 cases of the virus and recorded more than 2,700 deaths.