PA sees bedlam as clash between PPP, PTI members continues.

Byline: Tahir Siddiqui

KARACHI -- The Sindh Assembly again on Friday witnessed uproar and chaos when lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf traded insults and hurled abuses on each other.

The situation took an ugly turn at the outset of the proceedings following the remarks of PTI's Khurram Sher Zaman, who said 'it seems that there is dogs' rule in the province' while praying for dog-bite victims.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Information, Science and Technology Minister Taimur Talpur and other PPP lawmakers lost their cool and aggressively moved toward the PTI benches, shouting at MPA Sher Zaman and advising him to control his tongue and not to act like a 'goon'.

However, other members from both sides of the aisle averted a scuffle between the charged lawmakers, though they had come face to face.

While Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani repeatedly asked the lawmakers to show some restraint, Arsalan Taj Ghumman and some other PTI members also responded to the PPP members.

Brawling lawmakers turn a deaf ear to repeated warnings by Speaker Durrani

PPP's Fayyaz Butt and Burhan Chandio also moved towards PTI benches hurling unparliamentary words at the opposition members.

'Hero ban raha hai tu mar khayega (You are becoming a hero, you will be beaten up),' Talpur told Ghumman who replied, 'Kon hai tu, jaa yahan se (Who are you, get lost)'.

'Bhar aa, idhar aaa, (Come outside, come here), Burhan Chandio said daring the PTI member to have a fight with him.

Speaker Durrani repeatedly tried to calm down the situation asking members to maintain decorum. 'This is no way to behave in the assembly and especially at the time of Friday prayer,' he added.

The visibly irked speaker asked the members to go outside if they were interested in violence.

He also expunged all unparliamentary words and asked the lawmakers not to use bazaari language in the house.

As the situation eased after some time, Mr Sher Zaman resumed his prayer and said that Minister Chawla, who also holds the portfolio of excise, taxation and narcotics control, had issued licences to too many liquor shops.

The remarks once again triggered uproar in the assembly, as the minister said: 'He (Sher Zaman) also serves substandard food at his restaurant.'

'Out of context' answers in Question Hour

The entire proceedings were marred by disorder as Minister Talpur, who...