KARACHI: Lawmakers belonging to the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Friday arrived at the Sindh Assembly on donkey carts — in protest.

“The ministers and [treasury] MPAs should also reach the assembly the same way on donkey carts,” PTI’s Sajjad Ali Soomro said while riding a donkey cart and holding a placard as he protested the “petrol bomb dropped on the people”.

Other MPAs, led by Mr Soomro, also held placards and raised slogans against the federal government over the recent increase in prices of petroleum products.

They rode donkey carts from areas near the assembly to its main gate and demanded that the federal government withdraw the increase in petroleum prices immediately.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Soomro said that the protest was aimed at highlighting the plight of the common man due to skyrocketing fuel prices.

“Petrol has become so expensive that we cannot even come to the assembly in our vehicles,” he said, adding that the people were bearing the brunt of the government’s policies.

‘No increase in university grants by Centre since 2017’

Universities and Boards Minister Muhammad Ismail Rahu on Friday informed the Sindh Assembly that the federal government had not increased university grants by a single rupee since 2017.

Furnishing a statement and replies to the lawmakers’ written and verbal queries, Mr Rahu said that the Sindh government was, however, giving the highest grant to its universities compared to the other three provinces. “But some universities are still facing a financial crisis because old universities have a very large number of employees,” he added.

The universities minister said that there were 30 universities across the province, of which 20 offer admissions under the self-finance programme, adding that 15 per cent of seats were reserved for self-finance with a merit system in place.

Responding to questions about harassment, Mr Rahu said that all public universities across the province had already implemented the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 and had also established harassment complaint cells, with three-member committees to deal with such cases.

He explained that initial inquiries were conducted inside the university, and if parents were not satisfied, the department also conducted investigations. “All universities have been directed to install CCTV cameras,” he said.

The minister said that there were 767 buses and coasters in all universities of Sindh, while 448 buses were owned by public sector universities.

He also said that the provincial government had given the highest grant to Karachi University, when Jamaat-i-Islami member Muhammad Farooq pointed out that the institution had 44,000 students but very few buses.

Mr Rahu said that 112,198 scholarships had been given to students from 2020 to 2025.

He said that MDCAT tests were now being conducted through IBA Sukkur after complaints were received about tests conducted by universities themselves, and no complaint had been received against IBA Sukkur.

He said that Sindh Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (STEVTA) had seven centres in District South, through which students passing out from technical institutions got employment.

The House also approved the Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Amendment) Bill.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026