Mazhar resigns as PA panel head | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

Mazhar resigns as PA panel head

Imtiaz Ali

Karachi: The Sindh Assembly’s Special Committee on the resolution against proposed amendment to Article 239 (Clause 4) suffered a setback on Monday as its chairman tendered his resignation during a meeting.

Speaking at a hurriedly called press conference at the assembly, Senior Minister for Education, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, said he was resigning from the chairmanship of the House committee in protest against three members of the committee, Shaharyar Mahar, Jam Madad Ali and Arif Jatoi, whom Pir Mazhar accused of speaking against him and law minister Ayaz Soomro.

The three legislators had on Saturday accused the PPP of having mortgaged the interests of Sindh by adopting some delaying tactics on the resolution.

“Since the members do not trust me, I am resigning,” said the PPP’s parliamentary leader. Pir Mazhar, however, denied the allegations leveled against him. He said he would continue to be a member of the committee.

Pir Mazhar said there was a technical flaw in the resolution as it asked the Sindh Assembly to recommend to the federal government to ask the National Assembly to not to take up the proposed amendment to Article 239.

The said article said that the President could not give assent to a bill passed by the National Assembly to alter the limits of a province until the assembly of that province gave its consent with a two-third majority.

The movers of the resolution against the proposed amendment to Article 239 apprehended that if one of its clauses was abrogated, it would empower the Centre to alter the limits of a province.

NPP’s Masroor Jatoi and 40 other lawmakers from the PPP, the PML-F, the PML-Q and the PML-Q (Likeminded) have moved the resolution in the Sindh Assembly against the proposed abrogation of Clause 4 of Article 239 of the Constitution.

Source: The News