KARACHI, Sept 18: The Speaker on Thursday prorogued the Sindh Assembly session amid uproar by the opposition members who wanted extension in time to complete the debate on law and order situation and on other points of the agenda.

Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, who was not even able to read out the rule concerned owing to uproar, reminded the offended opposition members that he had managed to run the business of the House for 24 days and was prepared to go along them, if the treasury benches were also willing to continue the proceedings.

But when the law minister Iftikhar Chaudhry refused to oblige the opposition and when the opposition members continuously ignored the call for an order, the Speaker left the chair, saying, “the session is over”.

Prior to this, the leader of the opposition, Nisar Khuhro, said the treasury benches wanted to run away from the debate on law and order.

Dr Sohrab Sarki, Ghulam Quadir Chandio, Nuzhat Pathan and Farheen Moghul said the law and order and devastations by rains were important issues and be discussed in the House. Some members were heard, saying, “Stop repression on Sindh. We will not accept dictatorial rulings.”

Earlier, the House adopted the bill seeking ban on extraction of minerals, including reti-bajri, in the province. The bill No-6 of 2003 was adopted with a majority of votes from the treasury side, and split opinion from the opposition benches.

The opposition, despite its agreement on principles and objectives, gave a split opinion when the treasury benches refused to refer the bill to the committee concerned or to defer it for consideration.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Nisar Ahmed Khuhro objected to clause 3 giving unbridled powers of authorization to a government officer or giving authority for granting permission for excavation and taking minerals from Sindh.

Abdullah Murad, Nasrullah Shaji, Maulana Hameedullah, Yunus Barai, Maulana Ehsanullah Hazarvi, Jam Tamachi, Dr Sikandar Mandro, welcoming the bill, said if the enforcement of law was left on the police, its fate would be not different from the existing laws which prohibit excavation under 144, but the mafia, in connivance with the police and the government functionaries, continues to cause damage ecology of the area, particularly in Malir where water level has gone below, making the fertile land barren in Gadap and Bin Qasim towns in Karachi, Thatta and Dadu.

Provincial ministers Iftikhar Chaudhry, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, Irfanullah Marwat, Osman Malkani, led by Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, agreed with the views of the opposition.

Syed Sardar Ahmed referred to Abdullah Murad who had rightly pointed towards the grave issue. He offered to amend the clause-3.

The Speaker provided both the law minister and leader of the opposition an opportunity to defer the consideration of the bill for 10 minutes so that the required amendment could be brought about and the bill could be adopted with consensus.

The opposition insisted on deferment of the bill and opposed its adoption during all its three readings.

The ministers opposed the opposition move, saying the bill was in the public interest and wondered why the bill was being opposed as it was opposition’s Abdullah Murad who had threatened to immolate himself if the mafia was not stopped from lifting reti-bajri from the Malir river.

All proceedings in the House remained orderly till 12.50pm and it seemed as if some understanding had been reached between the opposition and the treasury benches. But when the government introduced the bill No 6 of 2003 and as soon as it was taken up for adoption, cracks started appearing in the smooth business which had earlier witnessed formation with consensus of nine standing committees and three house committees.