TOBA TEK SINGH, Feb 24: The opposition twice walked out of the district council session on Friday, but the budget was approved by a majority of members in the house. As the meeting began, opposition members belonging to former district nazim Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq group raised an objection that the minutes of the last meeting could not be endorsed by this sitting because the previous one was held illegally and amid incomplete quorum. Saeed Ahmad Saeedi led the group.

District Naib Nazim Chaudhry Sultan Ahmad, however, overruled the objection with the claim that when they were not present at the last meeting they had no right to raise any objection. At this, the opposition walked out of the house. They returned to the hall after a few minutes and objected that three non-member women were sitting in the hall. Then they pointed out incomplete quorum and again walked out.

District Nazim Chaudhry Abdul Sattar presented budget for 2005-2006, which was passed by a majority. He informed the house that budget worth Rs2.137 billion was a balanced one and no new tax had been imposed in it.

He said Rs487 million had been kept for ongoing schemes while Rs238 million allocated for new projects. The deserving students would get scholarships worth Rs1.1 million. An amount of Rs50 million had been earmarked for health sector reforms project while on education sector Rs7.2 million would be spent.

The house passed a resolution presented by UC nazim Dr Maqbool Ahmad, a JI leader, condemning the blasphemous publications in foreign newspapers.

PROTEST: A Shia organisation on Friday took out a procession to condemn bombing in Iraq, which killed several people from the sect.

Starting from the central Imambargah, the protesters reached the press club on the Jhang Road and raised slogans against the US.