• Lawmakers ask the federal government to give the province its due participation
• Let’s say that the constitution guarantees that the region where the gas is produced must have priority in supply
Karachi: The Sindh Assembly on Friday echoed lawmakers’ concerns and protests over persistent shortage of natural gas across the province and urged the federal government to give Sindh its due share in the natural resource.
However, despite the importance of the issue, many lawmakers did not turn up as the thin house unanimously adopted a substantive motion following the adjournment motion moved by Heer Soho of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who called for a discussion on the issue. increasing gas load in the province.
Speaking on her motion, Ms Soho said that Sindh generated 61 per cent of indigenous gas, however, there was its shortage in the province.
She said gas supply was restored today at 6 am for barely two hours, forcing students to go to school without breakfast.
“Why don’t they give us gas according to our needs?” She asked, adding that the Constitution also guaranteed that the province where the gas is produced should have priority in supply.
Supporting the adjournment motion, Jamaat-I-Islami member Muhammad Farooq also said that the people of the region where the gas is produced have the first right.
Muttahida Qaumi Pakistan-P (MQM-P) member Rashid Khan said the people of Sindh were fed up with gas load shedding. “It is oppression and abuse against the people,” he said and demanded that Sindh be given the gas first and then the rest of the country should use it.
He said the government had increased gas charges but gas was not available.
The MQM MPA said the famous bangle industry in Hyderabad had been shut down due to non-availability of gas, affecting over 500,000 people associated with this business.
He urged the Sindh CM to talk to the prime minister on the issue.
MQM-P’s Aamir Siddiqui said the prime minister should fight the gas cargo farming case in the CCI meeting.
Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the charging tartar was also a continuation of the injustices being done to the province.
He said the federal government was responsible for following the constitution that guaranteed the province’s rights. Earlier, there were gases in cities and people used to burn wood in villages, but now people in cities were also forced to use wood for cooking, he added.
He said that electricity charging was also carried out for 16 to 17 hours in the province.
The minister said it was the responsibility of gas companies to improve their infrastructure. He said that the postponement motion would be approved and he would send it to the Federation.
Memon also asked MQM-P members to take up the issue with the federal government as they were coalition partners.
Earlier, Speaker Awais Qadir Shah started the process at 10 am to find only 10 legislators in their seats in the house. Question time was not conducted as any of the legislators who had submitted their written questions.
A dismayed speaker proceeded with call attention notices as the number of members eventually increased to 44 in a house of 168 members.
In his attention notice, Shariq Jamal of MQM-P pointed out that the streets were dirty and littered with garbage in parts of his PS-90 constituency.
He said neither the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board nor any local government authority took responsibility for disposing of garbage in Malir Saudabad, Khorkhrapar and adjoining localities.
Responding, Chief Minister Sharjeel Memon said the MQM-P member’s complaint could be correct.
He said the provincial government was spending millions of rupees on garbage disposal and now the garbage was being collected and moved to landfills.
The minister said the provincial government was giving Rs1.2 million to each union council so that problems in the areas were reduced.
Sabir Qaimkhani pointed out that the ministers were not there and said that if they were busy, the parliamentary secretaries should have been in the House to respond to the queries of the legislators.
Sharjeel Memon said parliamentary secretaries should attend the house.
The house was later adjourned until Monday.
Published in Dawn, January 25, 2025
