November 12, 2003	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1424

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WASHINGTON, Nov 11: The opposition will participate partly in the parliamentary proceedings from the next month but will continue to boycott official business, two opposition senators told a meeting in Washington on Tuesday.

PPP senators Dr Abdullah Riar and Akbar Khawja, who were guest speakers at a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) reception, said the opposition had decided to participate in debates when it moved a bill or initiated a proceeding from the next month.

“But we will not take part in any proceeding or move initiated by the treasury benches. That boycott will continue,” said Senator Riar.

Earlier MQM Senator Babur Ghauri urged the opposition to end the boycott and return to parliament in the interest of the country. He said: “The nation is passing through a critical juncture of its history, and it is time to transcend personal and group interests and collectively work for Pakistan”.

In their speeches, all three senators tried to appear optimistic, hoping that the current political impasse would soon be broken. But they were not equally hopeful when discussing the current political scenario with local journalists after the meeting.

Both MQM and People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) senators agreed that the opposition and the government have taken the LFO dispute to such heights that it is impossible for either side to give up its position without a major loss of face.

The opposition, the senators agreed, has been pushed against the wall after the arrest of Javed Hashmi. By arresting him, the lawmakers said, the government has dared the opposition to launch a mass campaign to force the rulers to change their policies.

“If the opposition loses its nerves, two things could happen, either it could agree to work within the given framework with the government or it can further raise the stakes by launching a violent protest at a smaller scale to make the government look bad. A death or two everyday is not going to win friends for President Musharraf in the West,” said one of the senators.

The other possibility, the senators said, is linked to the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

If the resistance in those two countries intensifies, America may increase pressure on the Musharraf government, forcing it to act against the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.