KARACHI: Hashmi warns of moves to divide opposition
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, June 21: Acting President of PML-N Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has said that a no-confidence motion against the speaker of the National Assembly has been submitted by the combined opposition and that it would succeed.
Talking to newsmen here on Saturday, Mr Hashmi alleged that after the filing of the motion, Gen Pervez Musharraf, the ISI and other agencies had stepped up their efforts to fragment the opposition.
He said that Gen Musharraf should not be under any illusion that the opposition could not bring people on the street.
He maintained that the ISI was a national institution and warned it against becoming politically involved. This would only benefit enemies of the country, he said.
Mr Hashmi rejected LFO which, he said, was a supra-national document. He said that Gen Musharraf had made the parliament ineffective in deciding national priorities. He said that the opposition would employ all means of protest to agitate its point of view.
He said the commitments made by Gen Pervez Musharraf at Camp David would not be binding on the people of Pakistan. The nation had not been taken into confidence, he pointed out and added that it would be Gen Musharraf’s personal decision.
He criticized Gen Musharraf for imposing his will on the people and said that decision about sending Pakistani troops to Iraq or any other country should be made by the parliament.
The PML-N leader opined that the military should behave like a professional outfit and not as a mercenary. He said that Gen Musharraf seemed to be a favourite leader of the American government but his difficulty was that India was the favourite country of President Bush.
He expressed surprise that at time when far-reaching decisions on issues like regional security, foreign policy, F-16 deal and normalization of relations with India were likely to be on the card at Camp David, prime minister Jamali as well as foreign and defence ministers were not involved.
