QUETTA: Speaker of Balochistan Assembly has refused to preside over the session of the legislature convened by the governor on the advice of chief minister on Monday.

Talking to journalists at a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of a private television channel on Saturday, Muhammad Aslam Bhootani linked his decision to an order of the Supreme Court.

“It is not possible for me to preside over the Balochistan Assembly session until and unless the constitutional position of the chief minister and the provincial government was cleared in view of the apex court’s interim order passed on Oct 12,” he remarked.

Reiterating his stance on the matter, he said the convening of the assembly session by the governor on the advice of chief minister was against the Constitution.

However, the deputy speaker might chair the Dec 3 session if he wanted to, he said.

“Nobody can stop the deputy speaker from presiding over the assembly session if he so desires,” Mr Bhootani said. Answering a question about the possibility of a no-trust move against him, he said he was ready to leave his post “for upholding law and the Constitution”.