Protests by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) legislators in the Sindh Assembly over the Gul Plaza tragedy continued on Monday, leading to chaos and disruption of parliamentary proceedings.
During the session, MQM-P MPAs staged a vociferous protest after the leader of the opposition was initially denied permission to speak. Amid loud sloganeering and disorder in the house, the deputy speaker announced the end of the question hour and allowed the opposition leader to address the assembly.
The Sindh Assembly session began with Deputy Speaker Naveed Anthony in the chair. As soon as the question hour on the excise and taxation department commenced, Leader of the Opposition Ali Khurshidi rose on a point of order to speak on the Gul Plaza incident.
When permission was denied, MQM-P members gathered in front of the Speaker’s dais, raising slogans and protesting loudly. Later, addressing the House, Khurshidi stated that the Sindh Assembly could not function unless a judicial commission was constituted to investigate the Gul Plaza tragedy.
He said 10 days had passed since the incident, yet no proper inquiry had been initiated. He accused the Sindh chief minister and Karachi mayor of incompetence, alleging that precious lives were lost due to their failure.
“The Gul Plaza kept burning while the chief minister and the mayor remained mere spectators,” Khurshidi said, adding that the failure of the Sindh government and local government system had been fully exposed before the public.
He termed an inquiry headed by the commissioner as “akin to appointing a cat to guard the milk” and demanded the formation of an independent and impartial judicial commission. He also urged the federal government to fulfil its constitutional responsibility, calling the silence of the federal authorities on the tragedy astonishing.
He remarked that it appeared as though the lives of Karachi’s citizens had become worthless. Warning the government, he said the MQM-P would not allow the “sweep-it-under-the-carpet formula” to succeed and stressed that accountability was essential to prevent such tragedies in the future.
Khurshidi criticised the CM for addressing the House six days after the tragedy, delivering what he termed a one-sided narrative. “This will not work anymore,” he warned, adding that as long as the MQM-P MPAs were present in the assembly, the government would not be allowed to act arbitrarily.
Responding to the situation, Sindh Minister for Home and Parliamentary Affairs Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said opposition members should be allowed to speak freely in the House. He requested the deputy speaker to give all members the opportunity to express their views.
Subsequently, the Sindh Assembly session was adjourned until 3pm on Tuesday afternoon. Due to the opposition’s protest, the remaining agenda of the day could not be taken up for discussion.
