13 January 2004	Tuesday	20 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 12: Opposition leader Qasim Zia alleged on Monday that bogus votes had been cast in the confidence vote for Gen Pervez Musharraf on Jan 2.

Speaking on a point of order immediately after recitation in the Punjab Assembly, he said a ruling coalition member, elected from PP-130, had been abroad for the last two weeks, but his vote had been cast.

Quoting figures, he said, out of 371 Punjab Assembly members, 254 voted in favour of Gen Musharraf, seven MMA MPAs did not take part in the balloting, while 110 ARD members boycotted the proceedings. It meant that there was 100 per cent attendance in the house on that day. This didn't show that Mr Mumtaz was abroad on the day.

Challenging the speaker to produce the attendance register in the house, he said the record could prove his claim. Urging the Lahore High Court chief justice, who was presiding officer for the trust vote at the provincial assembly, to take suo motu action against this, he vowed to move a court of law to expose the whole episode.

Law Minister Raja Muhammad Basharat, replying to the point of order, flayed Mr Zia for raising the point 11 days after the event. He said the people, who had boycotted the proceedings, did not have the right to object it. If they were so conscious about it, they should have remained present on the day and monitored all the situation.

Condemning what, he said, a plot to make the trust vote process dubious, the law minister said the opposition leader could not stop one of his colleagues from crossing the floor. He said they always sought dictation from their exiled leaders. Speaker Afzal Sahi ruled that Mr Zia's point of order was not valid, however, he may move a court in this regard.