KARACHI, June 13: The combined opposition in the Sindh Assembly on Monday staged a sit-in on the stairs of the assembly building to deplore the arrest of MPA Zahid Bhurgari in ‘a false’ criminal case. The members, belonging to PPP and MMA, chanted slogan of ‘shame… shame…’ and described the arrest as political victimization for voicing opposition to the provincial budget.

Leader of the opposition in the house Nisar Khuhro declared that opposition would not bow down before the rulers, and vowed to continue the protest against injustice with the people of Sindh.

He said that he, along with Senator Raza Rabbani, opposition leader in Senate, and MPA Zahid Bhurgari had attended a function in Hyderabad on Sunday. The SHO of Section-A police station came and told Zahid that the DPO had summoned him (the MPA) to the police station, Mr Khuhro said, adding that the SHO did not informed him of his fault. Mr Bhugari was then taken to the police station and from there he was shifted to an undisclosed place. His mobile phone was also snatched, said Mr Khuhro.

He claimed that neither the family of the detained MPA was informed of the reason of his arrest or about his whereabouts, nor was the assembly speaker informed.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah told newsmen, after his talks with opposition legislators, that he did not have powers to issue an order for bringing the Zahid Bhurgari to the assembly to attend the session as requested by the opposition.

Mr Shah said he had assured Mr Khuhro that he would only recommend to the authorities and the judicial magistrate concerned to allow the arrested MPA to attend the session.

The opposition legislators had told the speaker that the opposition member was being punished for lodging his protest in the house against the budget.

Mr Khuhro asked the speaker to provide protection to Mr Bhurgari as he was “implicated in a false case”.

The speaker maintained that rules did not permit him to issue production order for an arrested member, and recalled that he had repeatedly been requesting the assembly members to bring an amendment to the rules of procedures in this regard.