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City Council Opp demands probe into GBBT president’s murder

By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: The City Council session on Monday was dominated by the opposition benches’ demand for a probe into social activist and Gutter Baghicha Bachao Tehreek (GBBT) president Nisar Baloch’s murder.

However, the session was adjourned till Tuesday after only 17 minutes and the House could not discuss the proposed agenda, nor was it able to table or approve resolutions.

Speaking on a point of order, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Awam Dost Group and deputy opposition leader of the house, Haji Muhammad Jumman Darwan said public land is being encroachment upon rampantly while those who had raised their voices against it were silenced to death. Among them, Baloch was an eminent social activist but those who wanted to occupy the historical Gutter Baghicha land killed him. When the members of the treasury benches took the mike, the members of the opposition benches started shouting slogans demanding the arrest of Baloch’s assassins. Later, the opposition groups also raised Baloch’s at a press conference at the opposition chamber immediately after the session was adjourned.

Addressing the press conference, Jamaat-e Islami’s Al-Khidmat Group leader Muhammad Rafique said that the opposition benches wanted to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in the city and also the murder of Nisar Baloch but the session was deliberately adjourned.

Pakistan People’s Party’s Awam Dost Group’s Haji Muhammad Jumman Darwan, who is deputy opposition leader in the city council, claimed that the CDGK had links with the land mafia and the links resulted in Baloch’s.

Darwan added that the land mafia was illegally occupying parks, playgrounds and amenity plots in the city and murdering Baloch was their way to send a message to anyone trying to stop them. Darwan demanded that the Sindh government form an inquiry team at a Sindh High Court level to investigate Baloch’s murder. Darwan also claimed that Baloch’s family has identified the assassins and the government should proceed accordingly to arrest the culprits.

Meanwhile, earlier during the council session, a couple of treasury benches members including Muhammad Arshad Qureshi, Abdul Jalil and leader of the house, Muhammad Asif Siddiqui spoke on point of orders, raising issues of union council (UC) secretaries.

Qureshi said that Sindh Local Government Department has unlawfully withdrawn secretaries from 134 UCs of the city and have given no reasons for doing so. This act of the Sindh Local Government Department was in absolute negation of the provisions laid in the Sindh: Local Government Ordinance-2001 and the notification should be withdrawn because the withdrawal of the secretaries has caused the UC’s routine businesses to come to a halt.

Siddiqui, on a point of order, said that the Sindh Local Government Department’s decision was against the law and said that it was an exaggerated act by the department. Jalil, on a point of order, claimed that the withdrawal of 134 secretaries was not lawful as sections 74 and 75 of the SLGO-2001 stated that UC nazims can designate powers to any UC personal or could nominate any personnel as the UC principal accounting officer. The Sindh Local Government Department should provide replacements for the 134 secretaries because this is affecting the financial procedures of the 134 UCs.

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