KARACHI, May 31: The requisition session of the Sindh Assembly, held on Tuesday, witnessed pandemonium when the opposition strongly protested denial of any extra time to discuss remaining items of the agenda, killing of ex-MPA Aslam Mujahid, the suicide attack on Madinatul Ilm and the violent incidents in the aftermath of the attack.
The session began at 11:55am and was prorogued at about 2pm, 15 minutes after the proceedings resumed after Zuhr break.
After recitation from the Holy Quran and Naat, the house offered fateha for those who died or killed during the period between the previous and present session. Deputy Speaker Rahila Tiwana was chairing the session in the absence of Speaker Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, who has proceeded abroad.
As the panel of chairmen was formed, the chair announced commencement of question hour, which was suspended for Zuhr prayers. When the house reassembled after the break, a member of the panel of chairman, Mohammad Hussain, took the chair of the speaker. He told members to ask supplementary question to complete the question hour.
Taking the next item on the order of day, he asked movers of privilege motion No. 1 to read out their motion which pertained to humiliation of the MPAs Ms Farheen Mughal, Ms Shamim Ara Panhwar and Ms Sharfunnisa Leghari by police in Lahore where they had gone to welcome their party leader Asif Ali Zardari on his return home from Dubai.
Ms Sharfunnisa was still reading the motion when Syed Shakir Ali from the treasury benches pointed out that the time for the session was over.
Raising objection, leader of the opposition Nisar Ahmed Khuhro argued that the deputy speaker had informed him that Senior Finance Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed had agreed to extend the time of the session beyond the fixed hours. His claim was refuted by the minister and the chair advised Mr Khuhro to seek the treasury members’ consent on extending the time.
Two MMA leaders, Nasrullah Shaji and Hameedullah advocate, who had entered the house a few minutes earlier, tried to speak out but the chair restrained them, saying that the issue of extending the time should first be settled.
Law Minister Chaudhry Iftekhar refused to allow any extra time, prompting the chair to read out the order of the Acting Speaker, Rahila Tiwana, regarding proroguing the session.
As soon as Mohammad Hussain read out the order, the treasury benches started leaving the house, ignoring the resentment being expressed by the enraged opposition.
In a fit of anger, many opposition members moved towards the speaker’s rostrum forcing the assembly staff to disperse in panic, leaving behind files and documents placed on their desks and the rostrum.
Nasrullah Shaji, MMA’s deputy parliamentary party leader in the house, wanted to speak on the killing of a Jamaat-i-Islami leader, ex-MPA Aslam Mujahid, and also the attack on Madinatul Ilm. Protesting against the denial of permission to speak, he raised slogans against the Sindh governor and chief minister and accused them of being terrorists and killers. Shouting slogans of ‘shame… shame…’ other opposition members supported Mr Shaji who also claimed that killers of Aslam Mujahid were hiding in the Governor’s House. “We will not allow anyone to hold Karachi hostage!” he shouted.
Later, the opposition members staged a sit-in on the steps of the assembly building raising slogans against the governor and the Sindh coalition.