LAHORE: In a rare show, at least during the last one-and-a-half decade of the Punjab Assembly history, the house proceedings started on time only to be postponed soon after for want of quorum here on Friday.

Members from both sides of the aisle had been complaining to Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan that their precious time was wasted because of an average two-hour delay in the start of the proceedings daily.

The custodian of the house told the lawmakers on Thursday that he had been delaying the sitting because most of the MPAs would turn up late. He, however, announced the beginning of the session on time from Friday (today).

As the speaker took his chair exactlyat 2pm, the official time for starting the session, in the house and formally began its proceedings, only 19 MPAs, none of them from the opposition, were present in the house.

Interestingly, the assembly staff was also taken aback by the timely start of the sitting as they had not yet distributed copies of the agenda.

Speaker Khan adjourned the proceedings for 15 minutes when a treasury member, Sardar Khan Bahadur, pointed out lack of quorum during the Question Hour.

As per rules, at least one-fourth members (94) of the house should be present all the time during the proceedings.

The chair said that as per tradition lack of quorum could not be pointed out during the Question Hour. But the rules saythat once theissueisraiseditcannot be withdrawn; therefore, he suspendedthe sitting for 15 minutes.

When the proceedings resumed after the break, the opposition members, led by Malik Ahmed Bhachar, protested rigorously against the verdict in the 190m pound Al-Qadir Trust case in which PTI founder Imran Khan was given a 14-year jail term and his wife and co-accused Bushra sentenced for seven years.

The speaker then adjourned the meeting until Monday afternoon as the house lacked quorum even at that time.

After the adjournment of the sitting, the opposition leader told a press conference that the proceedings were put off to deprive the opposition members to speak their mind on the case verdict which, he said, was the most controversial in the judicial history of the country. He regretted that the Question Hour was not taken up in the house inviolation of rules though it`s an important parliamentary tool to raise issues of public concern. He said an MPA of the ruling party deliberately pointed out the quorum to avoid giving floor to the opposition to vent out anger at the court verdict.

But, he asked, for how long the government could avert this situation through these tactics as the entire PTI stood united behind the founder of the party.

Addressing Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Mr Bhachar said her government could not survive through such measures.

Later, the PTI MPAs staged a protest at the staircase of the old assembly building where Fridays` proceedings were held. Holding placards, they raised slogans for the PTI founder and against his conviction in the case.