September 13, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The National Assembly plunged into confusion on Friday as opposition parties walked out to continue their anti-LFO protest and the treasury benches pressed on with the agenda amid a row over quorum.

Members from both sides of the political divide regretted a gradual slide to non-seriousness in the lower house that has been paralysed for more than 10 months by noisy opposition protests against the LFO.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali came to an opposition-less house midway through the sitting but the atmosphere there seemed to be a reason for him to choose another forum — a brief chat with reporters — to set Sept 16 for a much-awaited meeting with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and his allies to try to settle the LFO row.

As the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the MMA tried outside the house to paper over an apparent rift between them over talks with the government, the ruling coalition celebrated at least one MMA member’s revolt against the walkout after he was seen talking to Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.

Opposition members stormed out of the hall after only about five minutes’ of desk-thumping and chanting of “no LFO no” and “go Musharraf go” slogans soon after the house met late by more than an hour for a morning sitting following a two-day recess.

Members from the ARD, which includes the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), wore on their chests and shoulders stickers reading “Aeen ka jo ghaddar hai, wo mot ka haqdar hai” (one who abrogates the Constitution deserves death).

REVOLT IN MMA: Three MMA members — Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz (Karak district of the NWFP), Qari Gul Rehman (Karachi) and Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq (Fata) — did not walk out with other opposition members.

But only young Maulana Aziz remained in the house during the whole of the proceedings — while the other two went out — and was enthusiastically greeted by the treasury benches for defying his alliance.

Just as the opposition members started protest shouting after the recitation from the holy Quran at the start of the session, Maulana Aziz went to Mr Sherpao seated in the front row of the treasury benches, sat by his side and was seen handing him a document.

The two men were seen chatting for some time as Mr Sherpao also seemed to be reading the paper given to him by Maulana Aziz, who defeated Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan in Karak in the October elections.

Mr Sherpao was later seen returning the paper to Maulana Aziz but patting him on shoulders before Maulana Aziz went back to his seat while his colleagues were still thumping their desks.

As other opposition members walked out, MMA deputy parliamentary leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed led Maulana Aziz to an opposition lounge through a side-door possibly to ask him about his conduct in which he seemed to be seeking some favour from Mr Sherpao, often accused by the MMA of trying to destabilise its government in the NWFP.