KARACHI: National People’s Party Lawmaker Arif Mustafa Jatoi has said that under Rule 15 of the Rules of Business of the Sindh Assembly, it is not the speaker’s responsibility to point out a lack of quorum in the house and as such acting speaker Shehla Raza has overstepped her authority by adjourning the assembly session on the pretext.

Mr Jatoi, an active member of the joint opposition led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, said the government was afraid of the opposition, which had risen to between 73 and 75 members, and was running away from the assembly.

Speaking to a group of media persons after the adjournment of the session, the National People’s Party MPA said the Pakistan People’s Party ministers would similarly run away from the people in the coming elections.

He said that after its MPA Mir Hasan Khoso resigned, not only from the assembly but also from the party membership, and joined the PML-F the PPP feared more defections of its lawmakers in the assembly.

In reply to a question, he said that in the beginning of the tenure of the present assembly it was agreed between the opposition and the PPP that no member would raise the quorum issue as lawmakers joined the session during the questions hour and if the acting speaker had waited a little more enough members would have arrived in the house.

Answering another question, he said the acting speaker had stolen another private members day by postponing the session till Wednesday, and that was done for a second time.