KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the federal government to immediately withdraw the petroleum levy and provide relief to the public amid rising inflation.
The resolution was moved by Jamaat-e-Islami’s parliamentary leader, Muhammad Farooq. It urged the federal government to abolish the levy and take steps to ease the burden on the people.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar said the matter fell within the federal government’s jurisdiction and that the Sindh government had no authority to abolish the levy.
“We can only ask the federal government to take action,” he said, adding that the issue was of public importance and the government could not oppose the resolution.
The sitting, held on Private Members’ Day, was marked by noisy protests and sloganeering by members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
However, Deputy Speaker Anthony Naveed tabled the Christian Family Law Bill 2026 in the assembly. He said the bill had been brought before the house after 150 years and appealed to the opposition to support it. Speaker Awais Qadir Shah referred the bill to the relevant standing committee.
JI member Muhammad Farooq welcomed the legislation, describing it as historic and saying his party supported it. The speaker also said Farooq should be included in the Minorities Affairs Committee.
The question hour could not be held during Tuesday’s proceedings.
PTI legislator Sajjad Ali alleged that police had subjected the party’s workers in Karachi to “brutality”. He said two station house officers had tortured the workers and broken one of their legs.
MQM lawmakers again staged noisy protests and chanted slogans.
At the outset, Leader of the Opposition, Ali Khursheedi of the MQM complained to the speaker that government members were playing videos in the assembly, but no action had been taken against them.
He said the speaker had previously forced an opposition member to apologise for doing the same. He said videos of assembly proceedings were being posted on the social media accounts of government members, including ministers, soon after they appeared in the house. “We consider you impartial,” he told the speaker.
The speaker asked him to provide a list of the members involved.
During the question hour, MQM’s Taha Ahmed continued speaking, while other MQM members did not ask supplementary questions.
The speaker told Ahmed that if he had a problem with his seat, he could arrange for it to be changed.
As MQM members continued their protest, the speaker repeatedly asked them to sit down and allow the question hour to proceed. “The whole of Sindh is watching what is happening in this house,” he said. However, the MQM members continued chanting slogans. PTI’s Sajjad Ali also moved a resolution seeking the introduction of an insurance policy for government teachers. He said teachers should receive financial support if they died while in service.
The assembly session was later adjourned until 2 pm on Wednesday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026