07 September 2004	Tuesday	21 Rajab 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 6: The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has taken strong notice of the statements of senior government functionaries on the issue of Gen Musharraf's uniform and decided to raise the matter in the forthcoming National Assembly session on Friday, sources told Dawn here on Monday.

The sources said that seven members of the ARD had submitted an adjournment motion to the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday seeking a discussion on the statement of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in which he had asked Gen Musharraf not to shed his uniform for another five years.

The motion has been filed under Rule 92 of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992, and has been signed by Raja Pervez Ashraf, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Fauzia Habib, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Syed Naveed Qamar of the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and Tehmina Daultana and Khwaja Asif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

The motion says: "The Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, has stated in a statement on Sept 5 while addressing a meeting of his political party members that Gen Musharraf should remain in uniform for five years.

The statement is in violation of the provisions of the Constitution, rather instigates the general to violate the Constitution. The statement is of a very serious nature and urgent public importance and caused grave concern among the general public, which needs a discussion on the floor of the house, adjourning the business of the National Assembly."

Similarly, the sources said, the opposition was also planning to move a privilege motion in the National Assembly regarding the TV interview of Gen Musharraf indicating that he was not willing to remove his uniform by Dec 31, this year.

They said the opposition believed that if Gen Musharraf did not remove his uniform by the given timeframe in violation of the Constitution, then it would amount to an insult of the whole parliament.

They said another statement on the uniform issue by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in Karachi had also created doubts in the mind of the people that Gen Musharraf had perhaps decided not to shed his uniform.

They said the ARD was also considering to submit an adjournment motion on the statement of the information minister. Meanwhile, the Information Secretary of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Punjab, Naveed Chaudhry, even demanded registration of a high treason case against the Punjab chief minister.

The PPP leader, in a statement, said: "The PPP demands registration of a high treason case against Pervaiz Elahi as he has violated Article 6 of the Constitution by proposing uniformed president to prolong his tenure."