ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: Protesting opposition parties stormed out of a hurriedly called Senate session on Thursday, turning it into an all-ruling coalition affair during which a government minister crossed swords with the leader of the house.

Opposition Senators walked out to protest at President Pervez Musharraf’s summoning of the upper house at an unusually short notice of less than a day and as part of a prolonged protest against the Legal Framework Order (LFO).

As opposition leaders explained reasons of their move to reporters outside the hall, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had an angry exchange with leader of the house Wasim Sajjad during an otherwise smooth and interesting question hour.

A ruling coalition delegation led by Mr Sajjad failed to persuade the opposition to return to the house it had boycotted after a few minutes of desk-thumping and slogan-chanting against the president and the LFO.

The minister’s swipe at Mr Sajjad, a former Senate chairman who represents Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the upper house, provoked protests from two members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-PML, one calling it an insult to the house.

The episode happened after the minister advised independent Senator Waqar Ahmad Khan from the North West Frontier Province to come to his office for an exchange of information about a dispute between the Pakistan Television and the Kelly Broadcasting Service of America (KBSA) over the implementation of an agreement between them.

Mr Sajjad said the practice of giving information in ministers’ offices about questions asked in parliament should be avoided and instead all information should come before the house.

The suggestion seemed to irk the information minister who said he was well aware of parliamentary norms about giving information after being elected to the National Assembly six times from Rawalpindi.

“And I have known it before him,” he added in an apparent reference to the leader of the house.

“Such reply is an insult to all members,” said an angry Senator Kamil Ali Agha from Punjab.

“Doesn’t he know we are members (of the house), not journalists?” he asked in a remark, which he later explained to agitated journalists did not mean insult to them but only referred to the minister’s attitude towards them.

Senator Abdul Razzaq Thahim, whose PML-F faction merged with other factions on Wednesday to form a combined PML, also regretted Sheikh Rashid’s remark and said the minister “should not forget” that Mr Sajjad had been a Senator for 12 years — including nine years as house chairman — and that he deserved respect from all ministers as leader of the house.

“It has pained us,” the Senator said about the minister’s perceived sarcasm.

Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro, apparently trying to play down the incident, agreed with the view that information sought by members should be brought before the house.

Senator Waqar’s questions about PTV’s arrangements with the KBSA and Sports Star International (SSI), Lahore, generated keen arguments between him and the information minister, who at one stage said the senator seemed to know more than his ministry and asked him for a discussion over a cup of tea.

During an argument over the implementation of the PTV-SSI agreement, the minister said he would “chop their neck” if he found some people involved in “hanky-panky” in the affair.

At the start of the session, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal chief Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani said Wednesday’s presidential order to summon the Senate at a short notice was unfair and seemed aimed at preventing opposition Senators from attending in a large number for some ulterior motive.

He said members had not received the agenda of the session in time and many in far-flung areas had not received intimation for the session even by midnight on Wednesday.

Maulana Noorani said the opposition parties would go on opposing the LFO being made part of the Constitution with the approval by parliament while, at the same time, engaging in talks with the government to settle the 11-month-old row.

Wasim Sajjad said he would not oppose the opposition grouse in principle because there should be “a sufficient notice” to members for attending a session.

He said he was unaware why this session was called hurriedly, but assured the opposition that there was “no conspiracy involved” in the matter and he would try such a thing did not happen again.

The opposition Senators responded with a thumping of their desk and chanting of slogans “no LFO no” and “go Musharraf go” while rising in their seats.

After a few minutes of the noisy protest, the opposition Senators walked out while Mr Durrani continued his attack on them, accusing them of undemocratic methods, going against the people’s wishes and adopting double-standards by taking part in provincial assemblies but boycotting parliament.

Parliamentary groups of both the ruling coalition and opposition met before the Senate session, called for 11 am started late by an hour.

While the opposition groups discussed their tactics of anti-LFO protests, the ruling coalition groups, according to an official statement, “agreed to carry on the proceedings of the Senate according to prescribed rules and regulations”.

“They vowed to focus their attention on the task of legislation so that maximum relief should be provided to the general public and democratic values should be upheld,” the official statement said.

But before the session was adjourned until 10 am on Friday, the only legislative business done on the opening day was the formality of the presentation of the recently promulgated Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003, which the government says will improve the existing contempt of court law.