June 7, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 6: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N on Friday vowed to continue their protest in the National Assembly and Senate against the Legal Framework Order (LFO) during the budget session on Saturday.

The decision was taken by the two opposition parties in their separate parliamentary groups’ meetings held here on Friday.

Leaders of both the major opposition parties ruled out the option of boycotting the session or staging a walkout, saying they would use their right of protest inside the National Assembly hall.

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar said that 48 MNAs and senators of the party attended the meeting and unanimously announced that they would continue the protest inside and outside the parliament against the LFO.

The meeting, presided over by PPP president Makhdoom Amin Fahim, also passed various resolutions condemning the police action against the opposition MPAs in Lahore and the protesting teachers in Islamabad. The meeting, he said, also condemned “victimization” of the party MNA Ijaz Jakhrani.

About the mode of protest, the PPP senator said it would be be decided on Saturday (tomorrow) in a joint meeting of the ARD and the MMA to be held at 1.30pm.

Meanwhile, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and acting president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi while talking to Dawn after a joint meeting of their parliamentary groups in the Senate and National Assembly said the party had decided to continue efforts for sovereignty of parliament.

Mr Hashmi said that he had the information that the government had prepared a plan under which the speaker would adjourn the hearing of the House after 30 minutes. The government, he claimed, had prepared a list of the opposition leaders who would then be barred from attending the session and then the finance minister would be asked to deliver the budget speech.

The PML-N acting chief said that he had held talks with Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Liaquat Baloch and they were all united on the issue of the LFO.

He further said the Punjab Assembly incident had created bitterness in the already tense political situation.

He said the opposition had fulfilled its responsibility by participating in talks on the Legal Framework Order, but the government had not done so.

Raja Zafar said the meeting had condemned the police torture of opposition MPAs outside the Punjab Assembly and arrest and shifting of women activists to jails in other cities.

He said the government had maltreated elected representatives by detaining them in police stations during the assembly session.

The PML-N chairman said on the one hand the government had dedicated the year 2003 to Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah and on the other it was maltreating women.

“This shows their commitment to the Quaid-i-Azam and Fatima Jinnah”, he added.

He said the PML-N in its meeting had also condemned the federal government for interfering in the NWFP affairs only to pressurize the MMA.

He said all party MNAs and senators were not afraid of the Punjab Assembly-like incident and united against the LFO. “We are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of sovereignty of parliament and Constitution,” he said.