When lawmakers turn wild!

Shouting, cursing, damage to property and last but not the least, physical harassment. It was an unusual day in the parliamentary history of the Sindh Assembly on Friday as the provincial lawmakers violated all rules of procedure.
They attacked each other. Microphones were broken. Copies of the order of the day were torn. Carrying placards, the lawmakers shouted slogans on the floor of the House.
The situation exacerbated to the extent that the deputy speaker adjourned the session till Monday.
It all started with Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) legislators assembling in the chamber of Sardar Ahmed, the parliamentary leader of the party in Sindh Assembly.
After the meeting ended, the MQM lawmakers headed towards the assembly hall carrying placards and chanting slogans against the growing incidence of extortion and terrorism in Karachi.
After entering the hall, they continued shouting their slogans for 20 minutes.
One MQM MPA went to the seat of the speaker and placed a placard on it.
It was removed when Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza arrived in the House.
The agenda of the day was a question hour session on the Services and General Administration Department and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had to answer the queries. However, as the provincial chief executive was not present in the House, provincial law minister Ayaz Soomro had to reply on his behalf. The first five questions had been submitted by Arif Mustafa Jatoi of the National People’s Party (NPP) in a written form.
As the deputy speaker started calling the names of those for whom the House had to offer fateha, the MQM MPAs resumed shouting their slogans, went to the Sindh Assembly secretary and started thumping on his table, breaking his microphone.
Later, some MQM MPAs went up to Munawar Abbasi, Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri and Arif Mustafa Jatoi and broke their microphones as well, demanding that the lawmakers discuss the issue of extortion.
The deputy speaker, who was chairing the session, told them to stay silent and return to their seats. However, ignoring her instructions, the MQM MPAs gathered in front of the speaker and tore copies of the order of the day.
When Arif Mustafa Jatoi came forward towards the speaker’s chair, an MQM MPA grabbed him by the collar and shoved him backed.
This aggravated the situation as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers including Murad Ali Shah, Manzoor Hussain Wasan, Jam Mehtab Dahar, Pir Mazharul Haq, Ayaz Soomro, Mir Nadir Magsi and others reprimanded MQM’s Faisal Subzwari, Raza Haroon and Dr Saghir Ahmed for their party’s lawmaker physically harassing Jatoi.
Provincial minister Nadir Magsi tried to intervene into the matter, but an MQM MPA tried to grab him by the collar. However, another MQM legislator stopped him from assaulting Magsi.
The PPP ministers requested their MQM counterparts to control their MPAs.
When the deputy speaker saw that the House’s proceedings could no longer be controlled, she adjourned the session.
Later the deputy speaker as well as many PPP MPAs left the House, but the party’s ministers remained there, helplessly requesting MQM ministers to tell their MPAs to calm down.
Later, Subzwari tried to pacify the MPAs of his party and went to the dice of assembly secretary, who had already left amid the rumpus.
Subzwari and Raza Haroon spoke with their MPAs and after 10 minutes, the House’s lights were switched off and the MQM’s lawmakers also left the hall.