Sindh Assembly rejects demand for independent commission to probe HIV outbreak

Sindh Assembly rejects demand for independent commission to probe HIV outbreak.

Key points

• Tahir Siddiqui Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 08: 22am.
• Mr Memon then introduced a detailed defence of the 18th Amendment, criticising recent statements by federal ministers including Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and Mustafa Kamal.
• Tahir Siddiqui is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 35 years of experience covering the Sindh Assembly, Karachi City Council, and the provincial administration.
• Citing the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases as examples, the senior minister remarked that both institutions had transformed after devolution.
• According to It may be, a couple of weeks ago the Sindh administration had confirmed that over 100 children had been infected with HIV at Valika Hospital.

Tahir Siddiqui Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 08: 22am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Muttahida MPA's resolution turned down by treasury benches Sharjeel slams federal ministers for launching campaign against 18th Amendment Calls upon Centre to end 'discrimination' in gas and electricity supply to Sindh.

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Monday rejected with majority votes an opposition resolution seeking constitution of an independent commission to probe the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the province.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan lawmaker Muhammad Aamir Siddiqui tabled a resolution in the house and expressed serious concern over the HIV outbreak in a Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI)-run hospitals.

According to his resolution: This House expresses serious concern over the HIV-related matter noted at Valika Hospital and its feasible impact on public health. This House recommends that the Administration of Sindh constitute an independent commission to investigate the matter and determine whether HIV has spread beyond the noted cases and the extent of the matter throughout the province.

"The House further recommends that, until the completion of the inquiry, the concerned officers responsible for the matter be removed from their posts."

Labour Minister Saeed Ghani resisted the resolution, saying work on the problem was already underway and an endowment fund had been established. He pressed the mover to withdraw his resolution.

Nevertheless, Mr Siddiqui preferred his resolution to be placed for a vote in the house. It rejected it with the majority votes of treasury members.

According to It may be, a couple of weeks ago the Sindh administration had confirmed that over 100 children had been infected with HIV at Valika Hospital. It had set up a Rs2bn endowment fund for treatment and rehabilitation of affected children and their families. Members' absence irked speaker.

As neither the movers of five resolutions nor the lawmakers who had submitted questions were present in the house, the proceedings were hampered due to the absence of members.

In practice, the session, chaired by Speaker Syed Owais Qadir Shah, could not take up most of the items on the agenda. With no mover present, all five resolutions scheduled for submission lapsed.

After which the chair concluded it, during Question Hour relating to the public health engineering department, no member was present to ask supplementary questions.

Expressing displeasure over the poor attendance, the speaker remarked that it had become a practice for members to submit questions and resolutions but remain absent when the business was taken up. "The minister has come prepared, but members are absent, " he remarked.

For context, the speaker directed that members ensure their presence and stressed that seriousness was required for the effective functioning of the house.

For context, the listed questions were submitted by the MQM-P members Muhammad Daniyal and Syed Muhammad Usman. This person were not present in the house during Question Hour.

In reply to a private motion by MQM-P MPA Quratulain seeking installation of street lights on all highways, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon remarked that all national highways fell under the jurisdiction of the federal administration. He asked the member to raise the matter with her party's representatives in the National Assembly. Sharjeel slams federal ministers, defends 18th Amendment.

Mr Memon then introduced a detailed defence of the 18th Amendment, criticising recent statements by federal ministers including Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and Mustafa Kamal. "Provinces have become autonomous after the 18th Amendment, " he remarked.

He accused the federal ministers of launching a regrettable campaign against to raise the matter with her party's representatives in the National Assembly.

He accused the federal ministers of launching a regrettable campaign against the 18th Amendment and demanded that the federation end what he termed discrimination in gas and electricity supply to the province.

According to The senior minister, provinces had produced significant gains in health, education and energy since the passage of the 18th Amendment, and critics in Islamabad should first review those results instead of questioning provincial autonomy.

"If Mustafa Kamal, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif or any other federal minister has any objection to the 18th Amendment or the powers of the provinces, then they should come and speak in parliament, " he remarked, adding: "We have representatives in this assembly who are capable of answering every question constitutionally, legally and with statistics."

"NICVD is considered one of the best medical institutions in Pakistan. Thousands of individuals from nationwide come there for free treatment. This is the result of this system and the powers given to the provinces, " he remarked.

According to Mr Memon, more than 3, 500 megawatts of electricity was being generated from Thar coal and fed into the national grid. "This electricity is not only for Sindh or any one city, but for the whole of Pakistan, " he remarked.

He further remarked universities and modern medical facilities had been established in cities like Sukkur, and that the provincial health department was now "standing on its own feet".

According to The minister, the residents were bearing the brunt of loadshedding despite the province's contribution to the national grid.

Criticising power utilities for punishing individuals, he stated: "If 20 individuals have not paid, take action against those 20. Where is the justice in punishing an entire village?"

Mr Memon remarked collective punishment violated basic constitutional principles. "An entire region cannot be punished because a few people have not paid their bills, " he remarked.

Notably, the senior minister additionally raised the problem of natural gas, saying Sindh had been producing sizeable quantities for years but did not receive its due share.

He further questioned the disparity in infrastructure development, noting that Punjab's motorway network had been built with federal funds.

Although they were federal projects, he remarked that when motorways were built in Punjab, the credit was given to provincial administration. "Sindh is also a part of this federation, so why is there discrimination against Sindh, " he asked.

According to The senior minister, to date, a complete motorway network was not built throughout Sindh comparable to the one in Punjab. Afterwards, the house was adjourned to Tuesday (today). Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026.

Tahir Siddiqui is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 35 years of experience covering the Sindh Assembly, Karachi City Council, and the provincial administration. He can be discovered on X at @DawnReporterTS.

For now, sindh Assembly rejects demand for independent commission to probe HIV outbreak remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.