KARACHI, Aug 20: The controversy over the recent raid on Prince Cinema dominated proceedings of the Sindh Assembly session on Friday with opposition severely criticizing the government over the attitude of law-enforcement agencies with the detained men and women.

During the session, which lasted about half-an-hour, PPP's Jam Saifullah Dharejo raised the issue on a point of order. Mr Dharejo maintained that cinemas appeared to be an important source of entertainment.

He deplored that the way the viewers were humiliated and maltreated during the raid had created doubts over the legitimacy of the whole exercise. He described the law-enforcement agencies' treatment as a violation of human rights.

Maintaining that more than 100 people could not indulge in the 'sin', as alleged by the LEAs, at a time, the member insisted that most of those present in the cinema were innocent.

He appealed to human rights organizations to raise their voice against the highhandedness and maltreatment meted out to the detained film viewers, especially women.

Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui repeated the claim he had made after the raid that the cinema had been turned into a brothel. He further claimed that initially, the illegal trade had been started with 10 prostitutes having been made available to prospective customers.

The number, he added, had gradually risen to 40. The cinema staff involved in the business had been charging Rs200 per head as 'ticket for the show' and there were Behria College students among the customers, he insisted.

The minister stood-by his claim that the raid had been conducted on Aug 17 after getting the tip off in this regard verified. Mr Siddiqui told the house that some of those netted during the raid resorted to attacking the police and many of them managed to slip away.

He pointed out that the cinema owner and his son had also admitted that obscene scenes of some movies used to be screened at the cinema. The minister informed the house that all those detained had been freed after a few hours because the city's prison did not have enough space to accommodate as many as 150 detainees.

He pointed out that the concerned SHO had been arrested and legal proceeding initiated against the cinema owner. PPP's Ms Nuzhat Pathan criticized the government and police for levelling a very serious allegation against the detainees.

There should have been medical check-up carried out and legal formalities completed before accusing them of committing such a crime, she maintained, and argued that why did not the government institute cases against them under Hudood laws. Deviation from the prescribed rules and regulations showed that the raid had been conducted only to defame certain people, she concluded.

Mr Rafique Engineer of PPP pointed out that the home minister's act of taking part in the raid personally itself showed that the relevant rule and regulations had been flouted.

He claimed that the raid was aimed at subjecting people to harassment as no FIR was registered against the detainees. He also condemned the police for showing disrespect to womenfolk by pulling them from their hair.

Opposition leader in the assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, while deploring the government for conducting the raid on Prince Cinema, ridiculed action against eunuchs. "The house should have been taken into confidence," he said, and sought the information about the 'middlemen' who, he claimed, had brokered the deal under which all the detainees had been let off.

The home minister clarified that the detainees had agreed to undergo medical check-up but lack of accommodation in prison compelled the government to let them seek bail from any court of law.

As the Speaker, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah closed the discussion, Mr Nisar Khuhro asked the chair to extend the time of the session to beyond 12 noon and sought permission to move an adjournment motion out of turn. The move pertained to the alleged rigging in the by-election for NA-299 Tharparkar-I and law and order in the province.

The speaker turned down his request for time extension. He, however, agreed to oblige him if both the treasury and opposition also agreed. When Mr Khuhro said that he wanted to move the motion on Monday, the speaker told the house the governor had already passed order to prorogue the session.

The law minister also disagreed to Mr Khuhro's request saying that the opposition had already wasted time in the unnecessary discussion on the cinema raid issue. The speaker then read out the governor's order to prorogue the session sine die.