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| 06 April 2004 | Tuesday | 15 Safar 1425 |
ARD opposes MMA move on NSC bill
ISLAMABAD, April 5: Opposition parties raised divided voices on Monday against the National Security Council (NSC) bill as the National Assembly began debating the move designed to give the military a permanent legal role in the country's governance.
MMA's Liaquat Baloch opened the debate from the opposition side after the ruling coalition agreed to allow a comprehensive discussion on the bill, which envisages a 13-member military/ civilian council that the government says will strengthen democracy but is seen by critics as a severe blow to democracy and parliamentary system of government.
Aitzaz Ahsan of the People's Party Parliamentarians is due to be the main speaker in the debate on Tuesday from the ARD. The ARD, MMA and their smaller partners all raised their opposition when Minister of State for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Raza Hayat Hiraj moved two inter-linked motions - both adopted by the ruling coalition - for an immediate consideration of the bill.
But the ARD and its allies distanced themselves from MMA's abortive moves - made by Mr Baloch - to have the bill referred to the Council of Islamic Ideology to rule whether or not it conformed to Islamic teachings and to circulate it for eliciting public opinion until April 30.
The ARD move reflected its reservations about the MMA since the alliance of religious parties entered a deal with the government over the Legal Framework Order (LFO) in return for some government concessions, including a pledge to create the NSC through an act of parliament rather than having it as a constitutional body.
An opposition source said the government had agreed to allow 10 to 12 hours to opposition members to speak on the bill. This followed earlier opposition fears that the government would bulldoze the bill after the standing committee on law and justice approved the draft in just 35 minutes in a meeting on Friday where no opposition member was present.
PPP's Mehreen Anwar Raja protested to Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain that she and two other members of her party - Aitzaz Ahsan and Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada - were not invited to the committee meeting, which was held soon after the NSC bill was introduced in the house.
The speaker promised to investigate the complaint and ensure such a lapse did not occur in the future, but held the committee's hurried approval of the bill in order.
Explaining the salient features of the nine-clause bill, Mr Hiraj said the NSC would strengthen democratic institutions by performing its stipulated functions to "serve as a forum for consultation to the president and the government on matters of national security including the sovereignty, defence, security of the state and crisis management".
He said the NSC, which would be required to 'formulate and make recommendations' on these issues to the president and government, would also serve as a check against any misuse of presidential powers as happened in the past to sack prime ministers and dissolve the National Assembly under Article 58 (2) (b), which was revived by the LFO.
Opposition cries of "shame, shame" greeted the minister as he finished his speech.
DICTATION, NOT CONSULTATION: Liaquat Baloch took pains to assure the house that the MMA had given no commitment to the ruling coalition to back its NSC bill while making a deal on the LFO, and said the council would be "an institution not for consultation but for dictation".
He announced MMA's rejection of all clauses of the bill, which he said the government should withdraw. He also warned the treasury benches against approving what he called a "death warrant".
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