KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly descended into chaos on Monday after a verbal clash broke out between members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), following allegations of nepotism levelled by MQM-P MPA Adil Askari against Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
Tensions flared when Askari, addressing the House, accused the Chief Minister of breaching good governance principles by appointing his brother-in-law as the Chief Secretary of Sindh. “Murad Ali Shah is the Chief Minister of the province, and his brother-in-law is appointed as the Chief Secretary — this is clearly nepotism,” said Askari, triggering uproar from PPP benches.
PPP’s senior member Mukesh Kumar Chawla objected strongly to the statement, urging the acting speaker to expunge the Chief Minister’s name from the proceedings. “Such statements are not only provocative but unnecessary,” he asserted. As tempers rose, members of both parties stood up from their seats, exchanging sharp words and accusations, forcing the acting speaker to intervene. “Do not address each other directly. Respect the sanctity of the House,” he warned, attempting to calm the heated atmosphere.
The situation further deteriorated when another MQM member responded to PPP’s Farooq Awan, referencing his past in the Sindh Police and questioning his silence during the early days of MQM’s founder. “If the MQM founder was a devil, as you claim, you should have shown courage back then instead of condemning him now when his politics has ended,” he remarked, adding fuel to an already combustible session.
The confrontation overshadowed what was meant to be the start of a multi-day general debate on the provincial budget for fiscal year 2025–26. Earlier in the day, members from both treasury and opposition benches engaged in budget discussions, though political rivalries and deep-rooted grievances quickly dominated the session.
Jamal Ahmed Khan of MQM highlighted critical civic issues in North Nazimabad, noting severe water shortages and dysfunctional waste management. He criticized the Karachi Mayor’s claims about street cleaning. He also lamented that development schemes proposed by MQM had been discarded entirely from the budget.
On the government’s side, PPP’s Shazia Kareem criticised the federal government for neglecting Sindh in the national budget, citing the exclusion of significant infrastructure projects like the Karachi and Hyderabad Motorways and the K-IV water supply scheme. “Has Sindh become a slave of the federation,” she asked, further alleging that PWD schemes had been arbitrarily placed under federal control.
Ejaz Shah Bukhari, another PPP lawmaker, invoked Karachi’s past bloodshed, arguing that the PPP’s dedication to public service had earned it a place in the people’s hearts. He criticised the continuation of long power outages in Sindh and demanded the elevation of Tando Muhammad Khan Hospital to a district-level facility, as well as, the provision of a fire brigade to the local municipal committee.
MQM’s Abdullah Sheikh urged lawmakers not to incite ethnic tensions, referencing extortion-related violence in Surjani Town and warning against demonizing the Muhajir community. “We have seen everything in Karachi,” he said, calling for calm and fair representation.
PPP MPA Maliha Manzoor defended the budget, calling it a reflection of the party leadership’s people-centric vision. She praised initiatives like the Sindh People’s Housing Scheme, women’s property rights for flood victims, and new public transport measures such as pink buses, electric scooters, and EV taxis. “We are proud of the Sindh government,” she stated.
On the opposition benches, MQM’s Farah Sohail condemned the budget as “anti-people,” arguing that even after 17 years in power, the PPP had failed to deliver. “They boast about achievements in healthcare, but one of their own lawmakers took Rs 70 million from the government to seek treatment abroad,” she alleged.
Ejaz-ul-Haq from MQM questioned the credibility of the PPP’s development claims, saying, “It feels like we’re living in Japan — why don’t we see any of this progress in Karachi?” He said there was nothing allocated for Orangi Town and repeated his long-standing demand for establishing a trauma centre at Qatar Hospital Orangi.
PPP MPA Nuzhat Pathan said the federal government had completely sidelined Sindh, but despite that, a “strong and balanced” provincial budget had been delivered — crediting the PPP leadership. She highlighted dysfunctional water services in Hyderabad and criticized WASA’s poor performance. In a pointed remark, she claimed MQM had self-destructed. “We are not eliminating them; they have already eliminated themselves,” she said.
Another PPP lawmaker, Farzana Baloch, emphasised that the party’s vote bank was growing steadily, which she saw as a sign of public confidence. She slammed K-Electric’s over-billing practices, pointing out widespread illegal electricity connections in Karachi. “People who pay are punished, those who don’t are untouched. K-Electric has made life miserable. Whether acknowledged or not, PPP continues to serve.”
From the PTI benches, Muhammad Owais criticised the arrest of his party’s MPAs and workers during a recent youth rally, calling it political victimization. He also decried the exclusion of all opposition proposals from the budget and held the Sindh government responsible for K-Electric’s ongoing failures.
Despite repeated attempts by Acting Speaker Anthony Naveed to restore decorum, the session remained turbulent, reflecting the widening political chasm in the province. The assembly was ultimately adjourned until 10 a.m. Tuesday, leaving behind a day marked more by confrontation than consensus.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.