Sindh PA budget debate becomes politically charged

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget debate turned politically charged on Saturday as the treasury claimed sharp drops in crime, announced a landmark minimum wage, and signaled legislation to classify gutka and mawa as narcotics, while the opposition hit back over unresolved civic failures. Presided over by Speaker Awais Qadir Shah, the session spanned law and order, katcha operations, narcotics, local government, workers’ welfare, and the Sindhi-Muhajir political divide, with the atmosphere turning emotional and combative on multiple occasions. READ MORE: Fourth budget debate sitting: Sindh Assembly sees heated exchanges Home Minister Zia ul Hassan Lanjar told the house that street crime and violent crime fell 40 percent year-on-year, the overall crime rate dropped 10 percent, and terrorism incidents declined 80 percent across the province. He said no major terrorist attack struck Karachi this year. The CTD conducted 642 intelligence-based operations and arrested 66 terror-linked individuals. A foiled plot involving 200 kilograms of explosives recovered from a Mazda vehicle was cited as a major success. MQM Deputy Parliamentary Leader Taha Ahmed, however, demanded that debate not descend into political point-scoring, saying progress in Sindh and Karachi requires cooperation on equal footing rather than contested statistics. In the katcha region, the Nijat-e-Mehran Operation killed 48 bandits, secured the surrender of 539 others, and reclaimed 115, 000 acres from criminal control, with police now maintaining effective authority over areas long considered ungovernable. On mobile snatching, still a raw nerve for residents, incidents fell 7 percent. The CPLC is launching a dedicated app to register phone transactions and track stolen devices, having already returned 2, 458 snatched phones to their owners. Jameel Soomro, Political Secretary to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, countered by raising unresolved waiting lists for teachers, early childhood educators, science teachers, and police constables as delivery gaps the government could not talk its way past. The narcotics discussion produced the session’s most striking moments. Lanjar acknowledged a serious drug crisis among Karachi’s youth, with cocaine, ice, and hashish use rising and reports of minors consuming drugs. He called for drug testing legislation, adding pointedly that cocaine is entering Pakistan not through Karachi Airport but Lahore and Peshawar airports. His claim that drew immediate attention on the floor. Taha Ahmed objected to the tone of such assertions, insisting mutual respect must hold even amid sharp disagreement, and that public issues must take precedence over political point-scoring. PPP’s lady legislator, Faryal Talpur urged the house to amend existing law to bring gutka and mawa under the Narcotics Act, describing their spread from coastal districts to Shaheed Benazirabad as a public health emergency requiring urgent legislative action. Labour Minister Saeed Ghani delivered one of the session’s most combative addresses, announcing that Sindh will become the first province to enforce a minimum wage of Rs43, 000 from July 1, approved through the minimum wage board with representation from both employers and workers. Income tax deductions on workers’ welfare funds have been eliminated, with the exemption set to extend to other provinces. The Social Security department met its Rs13. 5 billion collection target after contributions moved online, while 2. 5 million workers and their families received free medical treatment this year — up 150, 000 from the previous two years. Ghani methodically dismantled media allegations of fraudulent recruitments, clarifying that 291 — not 300 — paramedical posts were filled through a legitimate 2022 advertisement, with only 112 candidates joining. On the SESSI dual-salary scandal, 31 employees were dismissed and recovery proceedings initiated, while 40 others were found on legitimate deputation. He said corruption in the Workers Welfare Board predated his tenure and that court stay orders have repeatedly blocked accountability efforts — a frustration he voiced without restraint. Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah defended the uplift record — hundreds of completed schemes, over 150 small roads rehabilitated, and 15, 000 tons of waste collected daily. He said the Provincial Finance Commission, formed in 2023, will now hold regular meetings for fairer resource distribution to local bodies, and argued that Sindh alone is genuinely implementing Article 140-A of the Constitution. The session’s most charged moment came from Ghani, who declared flatly that the PPP is now the largest party in Karachi — a direct challenge to the MQM on its traditional stronghold and warned that opposition numbers will shrink further after the next elections. The debate was under way at the time of this story filing. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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