Shaukat Aziz survives no confidence move

Islamabad, Aug 30: Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz today survived the confidence motion as the National Assembly rejected combined parliamentary opposition's no-trust move against him.

Speaker National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussein announced results after a day-long debate on the motion, saying that the resolution could secure only 136 votes in favour in the 342-member house.

''Therefore the motion has not been passed,'' he said as the ruling party members started thumping desks and congratulating Prime Minister Aziz.

Mr Aziz said his government took every decision in the larger national interests and never indulged in any corruption as claimed by what he called champions of the negative politics and those(former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif) who plundered national wealth and later settled abroad.

There were 137 members of the combined opposition comprising the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), the six-party Islamic opposition alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and other nationalist parties, present in the house as it took up the motion.

The no-confidence motion had been submitted in the National Assembly secretariat on August 23 with signatures by 141 opposition members. The motion also contained a 500-page charge-sheet against the government.

According to Pakistani constitution, a resolution for a no-confidence vote against the prime minister must be moved by at least 20 per cent members of the house, and voted upon after a minimum of three days but not later than seven days.

The prime minister must cease to hold office if the resolution is passed by a majority of the total members of the house.

But since the ruling coalition enjoys support of 201 members of the 342-seat National Assembly against opposition's 141, there were hardly any chances of a change in the present set-up, which has the full support of the all-powerful military establishment.

Earlier, initiating the debate, leader of the opposition Maulana Fazalur Rehman alleged there is no democracy in the country.

He claimed the ruling party has failed in protecting the constitution, which provided equal rights to all the provinces.

He also accused the government of a non-transparent privatisation policy.

MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad criticised operation in tribal areas and Baluchistan in the name of war on terror and took a swipe on the government for committing gross irregularities in privatisation of state-owned units and institutionalising corruption in the country.

ARD chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that no-trust motion was a victory of democracy, adding that the government must resign and pave way for free and fair parliamentary election in the country. But Prime Minister Aziz insisted the no-confidence motion was a reflection of its frustration, utter disappointment and lack of vision and it has no interest in strengthening democratic institutions.

He said here the opposition wanted to obstruct and derail the ongoing process of socio-economic development initiated by the government in the last seven years.

Mr Aziz said the opposition should not undermine the political and democratic process and instead join hands with the government to consolidate democratic institutions in the country.

He said the no-confidence motion has already turned into a motion of confidence in the government and its policies.

The debate on no-trust move began to the backdrop of volatile situation in the south-western Baluchistan province where violent protests continued on third consecutive day after the killing of Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti during a military operation.

The opposition parties have been condemning what they called murder of Nawab Bugti during the military operation last Saturday in Kohlu district, which also sparked a very unpleasant situation in the National Assembly yesterday when the opposition was not allowed to speak on the issue.

The speaker ignored the opposition's demand and ordered the assembly staff to turn off electricity in the hall. He also adjourned the house but opposition members kept on shouting against the government and termed President Musharraf as the ''killer General''.

Meanwhile, thousands of mourners earlier in the day attended funeral prayers in absentia (Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza) of the late Baluch leader in Quetta as operation to remove debris from the mouth of the cave where Bugti and his commanders were holed up, continued.

The protestors, however, turned violent and burnt two banks and over a dozen shops after attending Bugti's funeral in Quetta.

Rioting police fired teargas shells to disperse the crowd, which blocked roads with burning tyres.

At least two police officials sustained injuries as protesters threw stones on them. Protests were also reported from different parts of Karachi. Protestors played hide and seek with the law enforcement officials amid intense tear gas shelling.

UNI

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