Unanimous Sindh Assembly resolution urges serious efforts for Dr Aafia’s release

The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution for the immediate release of Pakistani scientist Dr Aafia Siddiqui from a US prison.

The private resolution was moved by the lone MPA of the Jamaat-e-Islami from Karachi, Muhammad Farooq. The resolution said: “This house calls upon the government of Pakistan to initiate serious efforts in favour of the nation’s daughter. This house demands that efforts should be made for the earliest repatriation of the daughter of the nation and Sindh province.”

While representing the Sindh government in the house in the absence of the parliamentary affairs minister, Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah said the treasury’s side in the house wouldn’t oppose the passage of the resolution by the house. He, however, told the house that the federal government had already taken up this issue and had formed a committee for the purpose.

Speaking on his resolution, the JI MPA recalled the ordeal of Dr Siddiqui while stating that the Pakistani female scientist had earlier gone missing. He mentioned that Dr Siddiqui had been languishing in American prisons for the past 21 years. He demanded that the imprisoned Pakistani scientist should be handed over to Pakistan as per the law. He praised the efforts of the federal government in this regard.

The house also unanimously passed a private resolution calling upon the provincial government that any road or building in Karachi should be named after renowned historian and researcher, Gul Hassan Kalmati. The resolution was moved by an MPA of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, Heer Soho, to pay tribute to the researcher who did extensive hard work to document Karachi’s history. The mover of the resolution mentioned that Kalmati had extensively written on Karachi’s history and culture.

The education minister said they lent support to the resolution moved in the house. He mentioned that the Kalmati tribe had played an important role in Sindh’s history.

He announced that the government college built in the native village of the historian would be named after him (Gul Hassan Kalmati). He said a letter would be sent to the Sindh government’s Local Government Department to name a road after Kalmati.

The house also passed a private resolution moved by an MPA of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Bilquees Mukhtar, for launching tree plantation drives in Sindh to combat the issue of environmental pollution. The resolution stated that plantation drives would go a long way in tackling the issue of environmental pollution.

The house also passed a resolution demanding that the national anthem should be played at the start of every sitting of the Sindh Assembly. The resolution was moved by MQM MPA Fauzia Hameed. The education minister initially opposed the resolution on the premise that there should be a difference between the conduct of the proceedings of the Sindh Assembly and a school assembly. The house, however, later passed the resolution, when the Speaker spoke in its favour.

Later, the house was adjourned till Wednesday (today) 2pm.