TANVEER AHMED

KARACHI: Disorder was the “order of the day” from the surroundings of Sindh Assembly to inside its hall on the day of oath-taking of newly elected members of provincial assembly on Monday.

Well before the start of session of provincial assembly to administer oath to its newly elected members, the surrounding roads of the Sindh Assembly were completely choked due to arrival of new members along with huge number of their supporters.

The Arts Council roundabout in the neighbourhood of provincial assembly was completely blocked owing to a large number of vehicles coming from different roads leading towards this roundabout. Newly elected members of provincial assembly along their supporters got stuck up in the traffic jam for long before they made it to the assembly gates. A huge number of supporters from various political parties thronged in front of the assembly gates, making it difficult for the members and visitors, having entry pass to enter the assembly premises.

The chaotic situation was so severe that even the media personnel were finding it hard to get into assembly premises to perform their professional responsibilities. A huge deployment of police personnel utterly failed to control hundreds of workers of political parties, who flocked the assembly gates.

As new elected MPAs were finding it hard to get into the assembly building, police personnel were struggling with the mob to pave the way for their entry into the assembly building.

A mob of political workers of various parties even stormed one of the main gates of the assembly building to enter into the assembly premises.

Inside the assembly hall, visitors’ galleries were jam packed with the supporters of MPAs occupying the seats. They didn’t even spare press gallery in the Sindh Assembly. The press gallery divided in two partitions was in complete possessions of the political workers, who were not willing to vacate the seats for the media personnel.

After minutes-long persuasions and with the interventions of assembly staff, one portion of the press gallery was vacated by the workers of political workers to give the sitting space for the media personnel to witness and report the assembly proceedings.

As the session began, the assembly hall reverberated with the slogans of the political parties immediately after recitation of the Holy Quran and Naat. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s workers, who overshadowed the political workers of other parties resorted to full-throat slogans in favour of party leadership as well as the MPAs of yhe party when they were called to sign for assembly members.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s supporters also managed to reach in a significant number along with the few supporters of Tehreek Labaik Pakistan, who also raised slogans in favour of their leadership. Astonishingly, supporters of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan – the third largest parliamentary group in provincial legislator were totally missing and no slogans were heard in favour of the party. Assembly proceedings were so noisy that Speaker Siraj Durrani had to order strictly to maintain calm in the hall when he was announcing the schedule for the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the provincial assembly.