Sindh Assembly approves Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Bill, 2011

Sindh Assembly on Friday unanimously passed the Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) (Second Amendment) Bill, 2011 into law to empower the provincial government to appoint presiding officers at anti-encroachment tribunals in consultation with the Chief Justice of Sindh High court.
According to the legislation, the government would now be able to designate a district or additional judge or an advocate having 10 years of work experience at high court as presiding officers at the anti-encroachment tribunals. The job tenure of the presiding officer would be two and a half years.
In the absence of Assembly Speaker, Nisar Khohro, first chairman Dr Sikandar Ai Mandhro and latter Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza chaired the session, respectively. However, the house again deferred the sales tax on services (Amendment) Bill 2011. In line with the law, the presiding offers of the tribunals and the special courts would deal with the encroachments over the public property in the province. Officers would hold hearing of cases only on the complaint of a person authorised by the director general or the director.
"With a view to appoint the presiding officers of the tribunals and special courts after consultation with the chief justice, High Court of Sindh, it is expedient to make such provisions in the law," according to the statement of object and reasons of the bill.
The ruling coalition led by the PPP moved a resolution to pay tribute to the former prime minister and founding leader of PPP for his services to the nation on his 84th birth anniversary.
Supporting the resolution, the PPP lady lawmakers including Shamim Ara Phanwar, Humera Alwani and Sussi Palijo hoped the judiciary would do justice in Bhutto case, saying his hanging was a 'judicial murder.' The PPP legislators including Murad Ali Shah and Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, MQM lawmaker Shoiab Bukhari and Masroor Jatoi of the NPP expressed their views on the very move.
During the questions hours, Arif Mustafa Jatoi and Dr Muhammad Ali Shah asked Law Minister Ayaz Soomro whether the domestic laws of British colonial era like Pakistan Penal Code had any relevance to the present day affairs. They said the government should make efforts to change such laws of the 18th and 19th centuries.
However, Sindh Minister for Rehabilitation, Muzaffar Ali Shujra, in an attempt to make house record correct said the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had devised the PPC and not the Imperial British. The clarification incited the Sindh Law Minister, Ayaz Soomro who first said the answer should be from the concerned minister and then replied that the government was replacing these laws in its regular legislation.