Imran’s behaviour irresponsible: Sindh PA resolution

Resolution against PTI chairman passed through majority vote

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday adopted through majority vote a private resolution of an opposition lawmaker against Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan as lawmakers of the PTI and MQM brawled in the house while severely vitiating its environment.

The lawmakers of the ruling Pakistan People's Party neither supported nor opposed the passage of the resolution. Another opposition political party in the house Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) also followed suit. 

The resolution on the Private Members’ Day of the house was moved by woman lawmaker of Opposition PML (Nawaz) Sorath Thebo. It stated: “This august house condemns the irresponsible, non-political, misguiding attitude and behaviour of Imran Khan and he is continuously misguiding the nation since last so many years."

Speaking on her resolution, the lawmaker of PML-N said that a so-called political leader had been continuously misguiding the people through his wrong statements and upset the entire nation. She said the same political leader was used to levelling allegations as recently he alleged that he had been offered Rs10 billion to keep silence over the Panama Papers’ issue.

She said the PTI chairman had failed to present any evidence to prove his allegation that he had been offered Rs10 billion as a bribe. She said it was utterly absurd that someone could offer such a huge amount to a politician who was used to holding his public meetings while collecting donations as low as Rs10 and Rs100 from activists of his party.

She said that the same political leader was now under strict obligation to tell the truth to the people. She said that Imran Khan was always used to making absurd and nonsense allegations in order to catch undue media attention. She said it was high time that such uninterrupted series of uttering misleading statements from a political leader should come to an end.

Environment in the house got vitiated as lawmaker of Opposition Muttahida Quami Movement Dr Zafar Kamali in his speech on the floor repeated the allegations against Imran Khan.

Dr Kamali said he felt ashamed in the house to recall such sorrowful aspects of the life of a politician but he had been constrained to do so. He said that the same political leader had once uttered indecent remarks against generals of the Pakistan Army and was also behind the attack by an unruly mob on the headquarters of Pakistan Television.

The lawmakers of PTI in the house, Samar Ali Khan, Khurrum Sher Zaman, and Dr Seema Zia, vociferously protested in the house against the remarks of opposition legislator belonging to the MQM.

Leader of the Opposition in the house Khawaja Izharul Hassan and another MQM legislator Faisal Ali Sabzwari played a mediatory role and pacified the situation. Faisal Sabzwari said on the occasion that whether or not his party in the house was going to support the resolution, it was not the policy of MQM to do character assassination of any personality. He announced to withdraw the uncalled for remarks uttered by a legislator of the party against the chairman of PTI.

Speaking on the resolution, Sindh Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that levelling allegations of being shameless and corrupt against someone, and other similar charges were equally unethical and unparliamentary as doing character assassination of any political leader.

“If some member (of the house) has uttered something concerning personal life of a leader, then he must possess some evidence to this effect as we don’t from where these evidences have come. If saying such things is wrong, then levelling the allegation of being corrupt against someone is equally wrong,” he said.

“Certainly, we are sorry over the attitude of Imran Khan. On the one side, he does state that he never bows before anyone. But he certainly bowed before (Pervez) Musharraf and supported his referendum,” he said.

Khuhro said that in the present times, people were used to analysing every aspect of a public leader as such matters easily come to the fore as the world had now become a global village. He said that lawmakers of his party would neither support nor oppose the resolution.

The house also unanimously passed three other private resolutions: One of the resolutions was moved by MQM’s legislator Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani regarding failure of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company to provide electricity to residents of Hyderabad.

The other resolution unanimously passed by the house was moved by Dr Seema Zia of PTI against ostentatious display of wealth at wedding functions and for imposing the condition of one-dish meal for wedding parties.

The third resolution passed by the house was moved by MQM’s legislator Qamar Abbas Rizvi against the issue of encroachments in Martin Quarters, Jail Road Quarters, Pakistan Quarters and other nearby residential settlements in the city and against undue threat of eviction to their residents.