ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: Political rivals in the National Assembly seemed to be on the war-path on Friday as the ruling coalition moved to penalize its protesting opponents, who vowed to devise new tactics to go ahead with their anti-LFO campaign.

The move for penalty, which could range from suspension of membership to disqualification, was made in a motion passed by an opposition-less house asking Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain to set up a committee to inquire into the alleged misconduct of opposition members during the past 10 months and report its finding to the next session.

Emanating from two privilege motions from as many treasury members and a reference from a third, the move came after the opposition parties had staged another walkout from the house after a brief period of desk-thumping and slogan-chanting against President General Pervez Musharraf and the LFO.

The move seemed to be in retaliation for two pending opposition privilege motions tabled last week accusing Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj of trying to attack and using abusive language against PPP’s Naheed Khan, and Sher Afgan Khan Niazi of the PPP-Patriots of making an obscene gesture in the house on Aug 22.

After the walkout, leaders of opposition parties grouped in the ARD and the MMA told reporters that the combined opposition would come out with new protest tactics on Monday, when the assembly would resume its session at 5.30pm.

“We will give the government a tough time,” one of the opposition leaders said.

Friday’s resolution for an inquiry committee of members from all parties came from Mr Niazi, who accused opposition members of a continuing breach of privilege, contempt of the house and misconduct through protests since the 342-seat assembly began meetings in November.

Another PPP-Patriots member, Tanvir Hussain Syed from Lahore, objected to opposition’s role in turning the parliament cafeteria into a “parallel assembly” where they made speeches to reporters after staging walkouts.

PML-Q’s Mohammad Wasi Zafar proposed that a reference be sent to the chief election commissioner to seek disqualification of opposition members under Article 63 for allegedly bringing the judiciary and armed forces into disrepute.

Mr Niazi, who also complained about what he called moves to destabilize Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s government, initiated his move after the opposition had walked out of the house.

PML-Q’s Zahid Hamid, who was in the chair as a member of the panel of chairmen, initially hesitated to allow the three ruling coalition members to move their motions verbally, asking them to submit their complaints in writing.

But he later agreed to entertain the verbal motions, which was opposed by at least two members on the treasury benches, Ishaq Khan Khakwani and M.P. Bhandara, who did not agree to this approach.

But Prime Minister Jamali, who came to the assembly for the first time since the start of the current session on Aug 20, seemed to be giving a nod of approval to Mr Niazi when leaving the chamber before the motion for the formation of the inquiry committee was put to the house for voice vote and approved without a dissent.

Mr Niazi’s resolution named several seniors leaders of the PPP, MMA and PML-N for what he called “rumpus, rowdiness, disorder, use of abusive language, unruly protests, bad slogans, boycotts and walkouts”.

Those named includes PPP’s Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Naheed Khan, Mohammad Anwar Bhutto; MMA’s Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Liaquat Baloch and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, and PML-N’s Javed Hashmi, Tehmina Daultana and Abid Sher Ali.

The resolution said the speaker had done his “level best” to run the house according to rules of procedure but the opposition members did not heed his requests, orders and decisions.

Earlier, the speaker deferred a privilege motion of Haji Khuda Bakhsh Nizamani (PML-F, Sanghar) who complained of allegedly rude behaviour of the head of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.

The speaker assured a National Alliance member from Sindh, Gul-i-Farkhanda, that her complaint about difficulties she faced from security staff while arriving at parliamentary lodges in a taxi cab would be redressed.