KARACHI: A noisy protest by the opposition Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday over the recent detention of their leaders and workers disrupted the Sindh Assembly session, forcing the chair to abruptly adjourn the proceedings.

The opposition members were protesting the brief detention of JI’s Muhammad Farooq and PTI’s Wajid Ali, as well as scores of others detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, triggering a heated exchange with the chair, held by a member of the panel of chairmen, Rehana Leghari.

The session began on a sombre note with prayers offered for the martyrs of the Islamabad incident. However, the calm was short-lived as a JI member immediately rose to seek the chair’s permission to speak on a point of order regarding his detention.

The chair, however, called Question Hour, informing the opposition member that he would be given the floor after the scheduled business on the agenda.

Chair adjourns proceedings for today due to pandemonium

In a dramatic turn of events, the JI member left his seat and stood in front of the podium, demanding the floor despite being denied permission by the chair. Meanwhile, Universities and Boards Minister Ismail Rahoo continued responding to lawmakers’ written and verbal queries amid the ruckus.

As the situation escalated, Speaker Awais Qadir Shah took the chair and intervened firmly, assuring the JI member that he would be allowed to speak after Question Hour. “Take your seat, you will get your turn,” he told the protesting lawmaker.

After Question Hour, Law Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar presented the audit report of the Sindh AIDS Control Programme and the report of the Council of Islamic Ideology, both of which were referred to the Public Accounts Committee.

Later, the speaker gave the floor to PTI’s Wajid Ali, who said that he was detained and tortured by 15-20 people at a police station when he went to inquire about the arrest of party workers.

The JI member continued his protest while opposition lawmakers staged a strong protest when he was again denied the floor.

Amid the continuing ruckus, the speaker adjourned the house without completing the business listed on the assembly agenda until Tuesday (today).

Earlier, during Question Hour, Universities and Boards Minister Ismail Rahoo stated that 10 new universities and 16 campuses had been established over the past 17 years. However, he acknowledged that bus facilities at universities remained inadequate.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2026