KARACHI - The Sindh Assembly Thursday passed a resolution to ask the federal government for taking back the recent increase in Haj package as ‘it would further increase the burden on the people’.

Tabled by Nida Khuhro of the Pakistan People’s Party and Sarwat Fatima of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, the house passed a joint resolution and asked the provincial government to approach the federal government to review its decision for taking the subsidy back from Haj fares.

Coming down hard on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led-federal government, Nida Khuhro said those who had claimed to make Pakistan a state like Madinah increased Haj fares and made it very difficult for the people to perform this obligation. She demanded of the government to review its decision and announce to subsidies Haj fares once again.

Another mover of the resolution, the TLP’s Sarwat Fatima termed the decision as condemnable and said that federal government earns millions of rupees as a profit every year by keeping the amount of pilgrims in the bank. “The government receives amount from the pilgrims way before Hajj month and keep it in the bank for the sake of profit but it is not willing to give subsidy to the people who want to perform their obligation,” she added.

Syed Abdur Rasheed of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal was of the view that Hajj fares were increased by 63 per cent, adding that last year, a person could offer this obligation at Rs 283,000 but now he has to pay around Rs 436,000. “A caravan of officials and representatives of the government is sent every year to Saudi Arabia and the common pilgrims are compelled to bear their expenses,” he added.

Supporting the resolution, the Muttahida Qaumi Movenment-Pakistan parliamentary leader Kanwar Naveed Jameel said that Hajj is one the five pillars (Arkans) of Islam and it is the responsibility of the government and the state to facilitate Hajj pilgrims. He added it seemed that the Pakistan International Airline sees Hajj operation as an opportunity to overcome its crises.

The TLP parliamentary leader Muhammad Qasim Fakhri was of the view that Haj fares should have been reduced as ‘everybody was expecting that the claimants of making Pakistan a state like Madinah would do something in practical manner but they have increased the fares instead,’.

Trying to justify the hike in fares, Khurram Sher Zaman of the PTI held the Saudi Arabian government responsible for the increase, saying that the taxes were not increased by the Pakistani government but by its Saudi’s counterpart.

Legislation

The Sindh Prisons and Correctional Facilities Bill, 2019 was introduced and sent to select committee for further deliberation. The committee, headed by Ghulam Qadir Chandio of the PPP and comprising his party colleagues—Raja Razzaq, Sharjeel Inam Memon, Mumtaz Hussain Jakhrani and Ganhwer Ali Khan Isran—and opposition leader Firdaus ShamimNaqvi, the Grand Democratic Alliance’s parliamentary leader Hasnain Mirza, Javed Hanif of the MQM-P and the PTI’s Shahzad Qureshi, has been assigned to bring back the bill to the assembly within three weeks.

The house also passed a bill to amend local government Act for the second time during current session. Tabled by the Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani, the Sindh Local Government (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed unanimously. Speaking on the objectives of the bill, Ghani said that the council members were bound to tender resignation through council but after the amendment they can resign by tendering their resignation just to the chief executive of the council.

Separately, The Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was also passed by the assembly after presentation of the report by the select committee.

NEWLY ELECTED MPA TAKES OATH

During the proceedings, the Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani also administered the oath to Syed Hashim Raza of the MQM-P. Raza who was elected in PS-94 by-election took oath of affirmation in Urdu.

Separately, an adjournment motion of the MMA’s Syed Abdul Rasheed regarding “misuse of the apex court’s order and pushing Karachi into devastation” was deferred till next sitting owing to shortage of time.  Later, the house was adjourned till 8th February at 3pm.