August 24, 2003	Sunday	Jumadi-us-Sani 25

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy on Saturday submitted a privilege motion against minister of state for law and parliamentary affairs, Raza Hayat Hiraj, for allegedly attacking a woman opposition member inside the house on Friday.

Secretary of the ARD parliamentary group Izhar Amrohvi told Dawn that the motion had been filed under Rule 78 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly.

Mr Amrohvi said the ARD had earlier decided to jointly move the motion with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal. However, he said, the motion was submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat on Saturday morning by the ARD itself as no MMA leader was available in the capital for signing it. He said the MMA leaders had assured the ARD that they would separately file the motion on Monday.

He said the motion, which had been signed by 15 members of the People’s Party Parliamentarians and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), had sought debate on the incident in which the minister of state had “attacked and abused” the PPP woman MNA, Nahid Khan, on the floor of the house. Through the motion, he said, the ARD members had demanded an action against the minister for his “misbehaviour with the MNA inside the house”.

When asked that a similar motion against MNA Nahid Khan is expected to be filed by the minister himself, he said under the rules all motions on the same subject were clubbed and the speaker was bound to initiate debate on it in the next session.