KARACHI, June 13: Several new records would be set when the Sindh Assembly will meet on Friday at 5pm and the Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed will present the provincial budget-2007.

First of all, the minister himself will have the honour of presenting a budget for the fifth consecutive year which will be a record in the history of the province.

For the provincial government, it will be a matter of great pleasure that it was going to complete its full tenure with the presentation of the last budget of the term, though it would not be the Chief Minister, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who could claim having completed his term. Dr Arbab had replaced his predecessor Sardar Ali Mohammad Mahar when the latter had to quit amid differences among various components of the ruling coalition.

Dr Arbab played his cards so skilfully that an influential and dynamic PML-Q leader, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, had to suffer setbacks at several stages of a controversy that finally ended up in Mr Shaikh’s parting ways with the party.

He then sought shelter in the PML-F, led by Pir Pagara, to escape conviction, detention or even end to his political career as the tussle with Dr Arbab cost him the fatigue of facing a series of cases.

He still has to live with the fatigue seeking bail from one court and the other. Mr Shaikh tried his best to convince the top PML-Q leadership to reconsider the decision to retain Dr Arbab as chief minister for the rest of his tenure but in vain.

Like the treasury side, the joint opposition is also likely to set at least one record. Led by the Pakistan People’s Party leader, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the opposition intends to boycott the initial business of the budget session if the Speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, did not allow the opposition benches to speak about the May 12 events and offer fateha for the victims on a point of order.

The trouble may definitely take place as the speaker is unlikely to let any member raise a point of order under Rule 116 of the Rules of Procedure which in clear terms says: “On the day of the presentation of the budget, the proceedings shall be confined to the speech of the minister presenting the budget.”

However, the opposition may insist on raising a point of order using the precedence set by Speaker of the National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain, who had allowed a couple of members from the opposition benches to speak on a point of order before the Federal Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan presented the budget.

While the joint opposition has chalked out its strategy, the treasury side has also explored the options to respond effectively.

The situation points to the possibility of a complete chaos in the house if the opposition insisted on raising points of order. And if the opposition opted for a boycott, the minister will read out the budget speech very comfortably.