08 April 2004	Thursday	17 Safar 1425

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ISLAMABAD, April 7: The National Assembly passed on Wednesday the National Security Council (NSC) bill amid strong protests by the opposition and charges that the controversial act aimed at giving the military a legal role in governance.

Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain cut short a three-day-long debate on the bill because of disorder and put the draft to vote after several opposition members refused to speak or move amendments to protest against the Speaker's attitude.

"No, No," and "Go Musharraf go", chanted opposition members who had assembled in front of the speaker's rostrum as the treasury benches passed the bill by a voice vote before the house was adjourned until Thursday morning.

The bill must also be passed by the Senate- summoned by the president to meet on Friday morning - before it becomes a law to create the 13-member military-civilian council.

The NSC will be chaired by the president with other members being the prime minister, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, chief ministers of the four provinces, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee and chiefs of staff of army, navy and air force.

"The council shall serve as a forum for consultation to the president and the government on matters of national security, including the sovereignty, integrity, defence and security of the state and crisis management," says the bill, which was tabled in the lower house on Friday.

It also provides that the council "shall formulate and make recommendations to the president and the government in accordance with the (stipulated) consultations".

MQM AMENDMENT ADOPTED: In what its authors said would dilute the opposition-feared authority of the council, the house adopted an amendment moved by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and accepted by its other partners in the ruling coalition.

It said: "Any proposal on an issue deemed to be of national importance which requires implementation shall be referred by the council to the National Assembly or Senate for appropriate action."

MQM's parliamentary leader Farooq Sattar moved the amendment, which was also signed by four other party colleagues - Kunwar Khalid Younus, Nawab Mirza advocate, Abdul Kadir Khanzada and Aamir Liaquat Hussain.

Winding up the general debate in a noisy house after opposition members refused to speak, Minister of State for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Raza Hayat Hiraj said NSC recommendations would only be "suggestive" and not binding on the government.

"The day is not far off when the National Security Council will strengthen democracy and institutions in Pakistan," he said amid disagreeing opposition cries of "shame, shame".

SHUJAAT-IMRAN ROW: After a walkout by the MMA members to protest against a speech by Education Minister Zubaida Jalal, a row between Imran Khan and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain erupted after the PTI chief severely criticized the NSC bill, saying the planned body would make Pakistan more insecure and institutionalize dictatorship.

He said Pakistan's security demanded a reversal of what he saw as a continuing concentration of decision-making powers in the hands of Gen Musharraf whom he accused of allowing himself to be manipulated by the United States.

The NSC, he said, would also increase a sense of deprivation among the smaller provinces. Rising on a point of order, the PML-Q chief hit back, accusing the PTI chief of having begged the president before the October 2002 elections to be made prime minister and suggested to him not to bother about parliament.

He rejected the charge that any injustice was being done to smaller provinces and pointed to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali being from the population-wise "smaller province" of Balochistan.

This provoked a self-explanation from the PTI chief who said he could have become prime minister if he had served President Musharraf in the same manner as did the PML-Q chief. He also said there was a difference between him and the PML-Q chief because "there is no NAB file on me while there is a NAB file on Chaudhry Sahib".

This provoked an angrier remark - later expunged from the proceedings - from the PML-Q chief about the PTI chief and protests from opposition members who urged the speaker to expunge objectionable words form the record of house proceedings.

The speaker's refusal to oblige opposition members led to an exchange of hot words between the chair and the members and a furore because of which he adjourned the house until late afternoon.

The speaker used the recess to talk to opposition party leaders at a house advisory committee meeting where he said he had agreed to expunge objectionable remarks from both sides.

But the row erupted again when the session resumed - when MMA had also returned to the house - after the speaker refused to allow another personal explanation by Imran Khan.

Several PPP and MMA members refused to make speeches in the general debate on the bill, which, opposition members said, would have continued until Thursday evening before a final vote on Friday.

All of them said they would speak after Imran Khan was allowed to make a personal explanation. Several MMA members also refused to move their amendments to the bill in protest.

The speaker used their refusals first to ask Mr Hiraj to wind up the debate and then to put the bill for a clause-by-cause vote, or second reading, and then a final vote while opposition members continued slogan-chanting and desk-thumping reminiscent of their noisy protests against the LFO for the whole of last year.

During the process, the speaker and the treasury benches refused to agree to the opposition's suggestions to adjourn the house for some time to help arrive at some understanding to have more debate and smooth proceedings.

At the start of the debate on Wednesday morning after the MMA walkout, PPP's Nayyar Bokhari questioned the propriety of creating the NSC through the "back door" while it had been rejected by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly and the Senate when the two houses had approved the amended LFO in the Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill in December.

"This legislation is not in the interest of the country and is in violation of the Constitution," he said.

MMA WALKOUT: Earlier, all MMA members walked out of the house in protest after the education minister compared the alliance's objections to alleged deletion of some Quranic verses from school curriculum with "fitna" (mischief), which she said had been described by the holy Quran as worse than murder.

She said the government was not doing anything against Islamic ideology or Pakistan ideology and in remarks that were cheered even by some members from the PPP, asked the MMA: "For God's sake don't be emotional and don't politicize education."

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