KARACHI, May 19: Deputy Speaker of the Sindh Assembly Rahila Tiwana has defended her decision to adjourn the Friday session of the house within 10 minutes after it started as a mark of respect for MPA Dr Manzoor Leghari, who died a few days back, saying that her ruling was in conformity of the assembly’s traditions.

Ms Tiwana, who presided over the brief Friday session in the absence of Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, was talking to a group of journalists in her chamber soon after she adjourned the proceedings till Monday.

In reply to a question, she held the opposition benches responsible for breaking the quorum, pointing out that when she asked for recitation from the Holy Quran soon after the house reassembled, the quorum was complete but during the recitation of Na’at, which followed, the opposition members led by Nisar Ahmed Khuhro started leaving the house. Only one member, Munawwar Abbasi, was left behind by the opposition by the time the Na’at recitation ended, she claimed.

Ms Tiwana said that the question of quorum could be raised through a point of order only after the recitation of Holy Quran and Na’at and doing so during the recitation was unethical and immoral.

She said that first Mr Abbasi and then Mr Rafique Engineer, who entered later, started shouting in the house and trying to speak without permission.

Had a member raised the quorum issue after the Na’at recitation, even before the fateha for the deceased, she would certainly have entertained his objection under the Rule 193 of the Rules of Procedure, she maintained.

But due to his continued shouting, she had to adjourn the session under Rule 30 of the Rules of Business.