May 28, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25,1424

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LAHORE, May 27: Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi defended Speaker Afzal Sahi’s action against some opposition leaders, saying it was strictly in conformity with the rules.

Answering reporters’ questions at a ceremony at Jauhar Town on Tuesday, he said the speaker was the custodian of the house and empowered to take steps for its smooth working.

Criticizing opposition’s conduct in the house, the chief minister said it was no service to the democratic system or parliamentary traditions.

He argued that the speaker could debar any member from entering the house for a particular period. He recalled that in 1988, then MPA Wasi Zafar was disallowed to enter the Punjab Assembly for five days.

In response to a question, the chief minister said the provincial legislature would transact all business for which the session had been convened.

He dismissed speculations about the fate of the assemblies, saying the elected houses had a bright future and they would complete their constitutional tenure.

Pervaiz Elahi castigated the elements who were trying to destabilize the system. But he believed that such people would not succeed in their conspiracies.

PML-Q MEETING: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said on Tuesday that the opposition had the right to express its opinion but it would not be allowed to snatch mike from the speaker or pull dupatta of a woman member of the assembly.

He was speaking at a meeting of the PML-Q and its coalition parties at the Punjab Assembly.

Pervaiz Elahi said the opposition had received fresh instructions from Jeddah and Dubai for not allowing the assemblies to function properly. The PML-Q and its allied parties would foil such designs, he said.

The chief minister said the government would not request for the prorogation of the assembly session.

The session had been convened to consider bills aimed at providing assistance and facilities to the farming community and no-one would be allowed rowdyism.

In this session the government would withdraw the tax levied on small farmers by the Sharifs during their government, he said.

He said provision of development funds was not the actual problem of the opposition as no discrimination had been made in this regard. The funds were constituency-based and were not given to MPAs, he said.

The chief minister alleged that the opposition members were disrupting the assembly session only to please their political masters settled abroad.

Minister Arshad Khan Lodhi said no attempt to malign the president or the chief minister would be tolerated. The PML-Q would soon start its organization at the grass-roots level, he said.