16 May 2004	Sunday	25 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

LAHORE, May 15: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has criticized the National Assembly speaker for consulting the ruling PML-Q leadership and the prime minister for nominating leader of the opposition in the lower house.

In a statement on Saturday, ARD deputy information secretary Munir Ahmad Khan termed it against the charter of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IBU) and a blot on the 'semi-democratic' set-up existing in the country.

He regretted that Speaker Amir Husain ignored the opinion of majority opposition members as well as accepted dictation from the ruling party against relevant rules and in violation of parliamentary traditions.

He said both the government and the speaker wanted to make the world realize that there was no democracy in the country at a time when deportation of PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif had already blemished the democratic face of the country.

He said MMA's Maulana Fazlur Rahman was being nominated as the opposition leader "to reciprocate his cooperation in Wana operation, the 17th constitutional amendment, and facilitating Gen Musharraf in addressing the joint session of the parliament."

He urged the IBU to take notice of the government decision which, he believed, would damage the democratic process in Pakistan.