June 24, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23,1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 23: Pakistan Muslim League (N)’s acting president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi has asked National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain to resign “as he has no right to keep the office after giving a ruling on the LFO.”

Talking to reporters at his apartment in Parliament Lodges here on Monday, Mr Hashmi said all the opposition parties were united and the no-confidence motion would meet with success.

He termed it a big success that all the opposition parties were united on the LFO issue.

The PML-N leader said that he had held consultations with PPP president Makhdoom Amin Fahim, MMA leaders Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Liaquat Baloch, and ARD’s Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan on the no-trust motion.

He said the opposition parties had protested over the speaker’s ruling because they believed that “acceptance of the ruling means acceptance of the right of an individual to amend the Constitution.”

He said: “If we remained silent then it could be assumed that we had accepted the LFO.” He was of the view that with this ruling the speaker had actually signed “death warrants” for the assembly.

“The speaker is a custodian of the house and he has given powers to dissolve the assembly to Gen Musharraf. Therefore, he has no right to hold the office,” he added.

On Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s statement that the government would not allow opposition to make parliament hostage, Mr Hashmi said: “Actually Mr Jamali himself is a hostage, and he has made all the ruling party members hostages.”

He said another purpose of bringing the no-trust move was to wake up the ruling party members from their deep slumber.