Sindh Assembly continues lacklustre pre-budget debate.

KARACHI -- Majority of the lawmakers from the two sides of the aisle in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday continued to condemn each others' leaderships instead of forwarding their respective proposals and suggestions for the next provincial budget on the fifth day of the ongoing pre-budget discussion.

Lethargic attitude and apathy towards the proceedings by most of the treasury and opposition members haunted the deserted house of 168 lawmakers as hardly 21 of them were present when Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani began the session with a delay of one hour, a practice that has become a routine.

Those who participated in the pre-budget discussion also left the house immediately after delivering their respective speeches most of which mainly contained harsh criticism, jibes and allegations instead of budget proposals.

The thin attendance of the members also marred Question Hour as only one out of seven questions could come up due to the absence of the members who had submitted the queries.

13 more lawmakers take part in fifth day of discussion; chief minister to wind up debate today

The speaker, who was visibly irked over the absence of majority of the MPAs in the house, said that he had been noticing the absence of members and ordered to compile a list of habitual absentees.

Adeel Shahzad of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan was one of the few members who spoke of issues in their respective constituencies. The speaker also appreciated him and reminded the members from the two sides of the aisle that the pre-budget discussion was meant only for giving proposals and suggestions and not for delivering political speeches.

The young MQM-P MPA said that the water shortage was the biggest issue his constituents and the people of district West were facing.

He said that even during the winters the people of Orangi Town, which he said that the largest slum area of Asia, were deprived of water.

'I personally submitted many proposals for uplift works in my constituency but none of them was incorporated in the budget. It seems we are not members of this house,' he deplored.

He asked the local government department to establish a pumping station at Orangi No.10. He also demanded that a 48-inch line be replaced from Banaras to Urdu Chowk so that the people of district West could get water.

Girls' university in Orangi demanded

Mr Shahzad said that Orangi Town was situated in the outlands of the city and the area girls had to go far away to Karachi University for...