KARACHI - Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said that PML-F’s MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi has not proved the support of majority of opposition lawmakers as 10 out of total opposition MPAs signed the application in favour of Abbasi, which is yet to be confirmed.

He was talking to the media persons at his office in Sindh Assembly after a meeting with the Chief Justice of Libya, who called on him at his office in Sindh Assembly building on Thursday.  Khuhro said that the support of majority of the opposition members was must for appointment of the Opposition leader in the assembly.
A total of 24 MPAs sit on the opposition benches in the assembly, of which only 10 members have submitted the application in support of MPA Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of PML-F to appoint her as the opposition leader. The Speaker added two of these 10 members, one each from NPP and ANP, are not the parliamentary leader of their respective parties.
Khuhro said the question about floor crossing could be raised if the nomination of the Opposition had not been signed by the parliamentary leaders of the respective party.
Two applications have been received for the appointment of the Opposition leader, one from the PML-Q (Like-minded) and other from the Functional-league, he said. He said the PML-Q (Like-minded) has moved the application to appoint Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim as the Opposition leader whereas the House had de-seated Arbab.
He said the process to appoint the leader of the Opposition had been defined in the Rules of Procedures of the National Assembly after passage of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The Rules of Business in Sindh Assembly have yet not been updated and now the Speaker is not bound to give any time frame for appointment of the Opposition Leader in the SA, he added. To a question, he said the next General Election would be held after March 16, 2013 while the caretaker chief minister of Sindh and caretaker setup will be formed with the consensus of all the political parties. Earlier, talking to a delegation led by Chief Justice of the Apex court of the Libya, Kamal B Dhan, which called on the Speaker SA, Nisar Khuhro said the judiciary is independent in the country, however the justice be dispensed to all without any discrimination.
He said the Peoples Party is waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court in the Shaheed Bhutto Reference Case.
He said the government is complying with all the decisions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and appearance of the two elected sitting Prime Ministers before the apex court is manifestation of the fact. He said the impression regarding confrontation between the government and the judiciary is incorrect because the Constitution of the country defines the role of all institutions and it is better that all the institutions should work within their respective boundaries. In a chat with the media, Kamal B Dhan said the court’s role was to give the decision rather than giving statements to the media.  The Speaker of the SA also presented the traditional gifts of Sindh, Sindhi Topi and Ajarak as well as shield of the provincial Assembly to all the members of the visiting delegation.
Meanwhile, the PML-F has said that ruling PPP avoiding issuing notification of Opposition leader as it want to run away from consulting the opposition on caretaker setup in the province.