KARACHI, May 21: PML-N acting President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Wednesday declared that the Opposition would not let the government present the new budget in parliament unless its concerns over the LFO were addressed.
“If they have the guts, let them present the budget in the House. We will simply not the let the proceedings to continue and our protest against the LFO will be very strong,” said Mr Hashmi while replying to a question at a news conference which he addressed at the Karachi Press Club.
He accused the government of not generating a national debate on its budget priorities, and implied that this could be due to the fact that the government was implementing a foreign agenda.
Hinting at some radical change by June 10, Mr Hashmi said the next two weeks were very crucial for the country as by then many a decisions would become public. He did not divulge details of the perceived change.
He said the Opposition parties were unanimous in their stand that the LFO was not part of the Constitution and it should be presented in Parliament in the form of a bill. If it enjoyed a two-thirds majority, it would become part of the Constitution.
He said that all the opposition parties were of the view that the Constitution, which existed prior to President Pervez Musharraf’s takeover, should be restored. On the other hand, he said, the establishment’s creations, the PML-Q, PPP-Sherpao and the PPP Patriots, had accepted the LFO as part of the Constitution.
He told a questioner that there was no difference in the combined opposition on the LFO. Nevertheless, he pointed out there could be some difference in stance.
He said the MMA had given President Musharraf a cut-off date of Aug 14 for giving up his uniform and seeking election as president according to the Constitution.
Mr Hashmi claimed that parliament was not complete as yet because it had not exercised the right to elect the president.
He said the ball was now in the court of the government and said that Chaudhry Shujaat had again sought a meeting with the opposition at Nawabzada Nasrullah’s residence on May 23.
Mr Hashmi took exception to a report in which it was said that the corps commanders had lent their support to the LFO and the continuation of Gen Musharraf as president and COAS and demanded a clarification by the ISPR.
Mr Hashmi’s contention was that such reports were aimed at pitting the military and the people against each other, which he said was a conspiracy against both of them and the country.
Mr Hashmi declared that his party considered President Musharraf a usurper and demanded his immediate resignation because he had no moral or legal justification to remain at the helm.
When asked whether his party would resign from parliament if the differences over the LFO and other contentions issues remained unresolved, Mr Hashmi said that as long as the Opposition found the platform relevant it would continue its struggle inside parliament.
“We will not stay in parliament if we realized that it is proving counter-productive, and will take our case to the people,” said Mr Hashmi.
On the current initiative for normalisation of relations with India, Mr Hashmi believed that the establishment was not capable of delivering the goods. He pointed out that there had been progress only when these negotiations were conducted by the political leadership of the two countries.
When asked to comment on AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan’s statement in which he has reportedly favoured partition of Kashmir on religious lines, Mr Hashmi said he could not believe it because the Muslim Conference had all along raised the slogan that Kashmir should be part of Pakistan.
