KARACHI: Sindh Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah left the house during the assembly session on Thursday when a legislator objected to his presence while raising a procedural issue, but returned after an amendment to the relevant rules was moved and passed.

The finance minister had resigned his assembly seat a few days back over the dual nationality controversy and had subsequently lost the cabinet seat also, but he was soon reappointed finance minister.

He is supposed to get himself re-elected within six months and till that time he can function as an unelected minister.

While Speaker Nisar Khuhro said that Mr Shah could sit in the assembly, participate in the discussions but could not vote in the assembly till he got himself elected, National People’s Party legislator Arif Jatoi objected and said that the session could not be proceeded in the presence of a ‘stranger in the house’.

During the arguments, Mr Shah voluntarily went out of the assembly hall.

Lawmaker Sikandar Ali Mandhro then moved an amendment to change the serial number of the clause in the rules of business that was instantly approved. Again, Mr Jatoi objected to the amendment asking the chair to count those who supported the motion. He also said that under the rules, members were given 10 days to study a proposed amendment before its approval. But both the requests were declined by the speaker who asked Law Minister Ayaz Soomro to carry out an exercise to update the rules of business, which had been prepared a long time back, following the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment to avoid confusion in future.

The finance minister returned to his seat after the amendment was made.