LAHORE: The quorum crisis seems to have become the most effective tool the opposition employs to hinder the Punjab Assembly proceedings as was evidenced on Friday.

Although the agenda included `official business,` where the Treasury is normally extra conscious about the attendance, the opposition was still able to scuttle the proceedings by pointing out an incomplete quorum, leaving the Chair with no choice but to adjourn the proceedings till Monday afternoon.

Ahsan Fatiana `locked horns` with Chaudhry Sher Ali, the minis-ter for minerals, and felt the chair was favouring the minister. Around 11.55am, he pointed out quorum when the minister was still speaking, and it was found lacking. The chair ordered ringing of bell for five minutes. After five minutes, the chair took another 10 minutes to count the heads, prompting Fatiana to allege that the chair was helping the Treasury to assemble MPAs.

The count was made to find that attendance was enough to continue with the proceedings, albeit barely.

However, within minutes, those who were herded back to House by the Treasury started leaving, prompting Fatiana to point out quorum in 15 minutes. As soon as the chair announced taking up official business, he pointed out quorum.This time, nothing could help the Treasury; neither ringing of bells for five minutes, nor some delay in re-counting and the House was adjourned for Monday afternoon.

Earlier, responding to a point of order, the minister dispelled the impression that the new iron ore reserves in Chiniot were being shared by a Chinese company.

`The Chinese company is just a contractor, being monitored by a German consultant. The entire reserves are owned by the Punjab government. It is for the first time in Pakistan`s history that a government itself is involved in exploration. Up till now, it were private parties carrying out exploration and paying the government two per cent royalty but the Chiniotreserves belong to the government and people of Pakistan.

`So far, only 28 square kilometre area is being explored where strike rate has been 100pc against internationally accepted rate of 40pc. On the basis of these results, the government and the engineers on site are confident that bigger results await them once they expand exploration area. That`s why the government not only plans to expand the area but is going deeper as well by installing new rigs to reach 1,500 meter deep normally a depth reached only by the oil explorers, not for minerals,` he said.

`The PML-N deserves credit for it, especially the chief minister who took personal interest in the effort, said the minister.