ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: Opposition's protest cut short National Assembly proceedings on Tuesday after Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain disallowed moves to discuss Monday's shooting during a by-election campaign in Attock and the interior minister's stance against the Jamaat-i-Islami.

All members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy walked out after the chair refused to allow an adjournment motion that sought a debate on the killing of three workers of the People's Party Parliamentarians on the election office of the ARD candidate contesting against Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz for a National Assembly seat.

The walkout followed a furore in the house for several minutes during which the speaker and protesting PPP members exchanged hot words. The speaker adjourned the house early until 5.30pm on Thursday, pre-empting a planned walkout by the members of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal to protest against his refusal to take up a privilege motion against Monday's statement by Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat that accused the Jamaat-i-Islami of supporting the Al Qaeda network.

At a joint news conference later, the ARD and MMA leaders accused the speaker of going back on promises made to them earlier to take up both the motions in Tuesday's sitting because of what they called pressure from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League.

"Zalimo jawab do, khoon ka hisab do", the ARD members chanted as they went up to the stage and argued with the speaker to allow their adjournment motion on shooting by unidentified gunmen at the election office of ARD candidate Sikandar Hayat at Qutbal village in Attock.

They kept chanting slogans as they went out of the house led by PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf. During the protests in the house, the speaker went ahead with the agenda for Tuesday - a private members' day - but opposition members refused to move motions unless their adjournment motion on the Attock shooting and the privilege motion on the interior minister's statement were taken up first.

The confrontation contrasted with comparative peace between the treasury and opposition benches on Monday when the speaker had agreed to immediately take up a PPP remember's privilege motion and the government had promised to come up with a reply in a couple of days to the opposition's demand for bringing jailed ARD president Javed Hashmi to the house.

Later, Mr Ashraf accused the speaker of refusing to give floor to the opposition at the behest of the interior minister who, he said, had no answer to the opposition charges.

MMA leader Liaquat Baloch quoted unspecified ruling party members as saying before the start of the proceedings that they would not allow any opposition motion that they did not like.

Mr Ashraf said the PPP workers killed on Monday had earlier received threat from the Attock nazim because of their campaign for the ARD candidate. He said Mr Aziz had no popular support either in Attock or Tharparkar and the government wanted to rig the by-polls to get the minister elected.

Earlier, Housing and Works Minister Syed Safwanullah told the house that his ministry had prepared a summary for the refund of millions of rupees deposited by people in the 1990s for the allotment of plots in Islamabad's New City project.