The Minority Caucus left tongue tied after Sindh government officials failed to attend meeting regarding Priya Kumari case
The Minority Caucus was established as a bipartisan legislative forum committed to protect the constitutional rights of Pakistan's non-Muslim communities.
However, recent events have cast doubt on whether it continues to uphold that mandate, particularly after the Sindh chief secretary and inspector general of police failed to attend a key briefing. In response to which, caucus members boycotted the session, which was later postponed until Thursday (today) at the request of a provincial cabinet minister.
The meeting was congregated on Wednesday 1st June at the Sindh chief secretary’s office to deliberate on multiple, issues particularly including an update on the long-stalled investigation into the 2021 disappearance of Priya Kumari.
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Nonetheless, proceedings were thrown into disarray after caucus chairperson Senator Danesh Kumar and other members discovered that the senior officials assigned to brief the panel were not present.
Their absence came despite the meeting agenda having been shared with both the caucus members and the relevant officials more than a week in advance. Regardless of waiting for an extended period, members received no appearance from either the Sindh chief secretary or the inspector general of police.
Senator Danesh Kumar criticized the absence of the Sindh chief secretary and inspector general of police, describing it as ‘unfortunate’ given the severity of the agenda.
He pointed out that every member of the Minority Caucus had attended the session, alongside minority lawmakers from the Sindh Assembly who had been especially invited as special participants, making the lack of response from the province's senior officials all the more disappointing.
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Kumar emphasized the importance, of the issues that had been slated for discussion while particularly stressing on the unresolved disappearance of the 7-year-old Priya Kumari, a young Hindu girl who had gone missing in August 2021 while distributing free drinks at a Sabeel during Ashura in Sanghar district.
The officials' absence evidently angered caucus members, who then responded by boycotting the meeting and deciding to return to Islamabad. Before they could leave, however, the Sindh government stepped in to defuse the situation.
According to Kumar, the caucus had planned to move a privilege motion in the Senate over what it viewed as the dismissive conduct of Sindh officials until Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Chawla intervened.
Chawla assured the lawmakers that the chief secretary, inspector general of police, and other relevant officials would attend the rescheduled meeting on Thursday (today) with the required updates and briefing. Following this assurance, the caucus agreed to postpone its proceedings and reconvene to consider the revised agenda, originally scheduled for July 1 and 2.
Nonetheless, such negligence from such high officials have left a sour taste in the public’s mouths and questions regarding the safety of minorities in Pakistan have started to arise all over again.
