11 September 2004	Saturday	25 Rajab 1425

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: The government on Friday offered a renewed dialogue with opposition on ways to tackle violence in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan but told the National Assembly that it would not allow terrorism on the country's soil.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao also assured a noisy sitting of the lower house that the military action in the South Waziristan agency was directed against foreign militants hiding there and not the local population.

Opposition protests against the latest operation in the region and President Pervez Musharraf's military uniform marked the opening of the first regular lower house session after Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz took office about two weeks ago.

Deputy Speaker Sardar Mohammad Yaqub, who presided over the proceedings, set Monday to discuss three identical opposition privilege motions about a perceived government reluctance to meet a constitutional deadline for the president to give up as army chief by Dec 31 and to discuss an adjournment motion about the latest military operation near Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan.

NOISY SCENES: The house also witnessed some noisy scenes and exchange of angry remarks between members of the treasury and opposition benches during its brief sitting on the opening day of a session that is likely to continue for a month.

While the protesters seemed to have an upper hand, there was no concrete peace gesture from the new prime minister though he warmly met some opposition front-benchers and sat beside Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Chairman Amin Fahim for a while to chat with him.

Mr Sherpao, speaking after a protest walkout by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal after the chair cut short a discussion on the Wana operations, said though a previous dialogue with the MMA on the issue bore no fruit, the government still wanted to negotiate with the alliance and seek its cooperation.

"Stop Wana operation", MMA members chanted repeatedly as they marched out of the house in a walkout that was also joined by the PML-N but not the People's Party Parliamentarians, its main partner in the ARD.

Mr Fahim, who also heads the PPP, later complained to the deputy speaker for not allowing an immediate debate on the Wana operations for which the MMA had tabled an adjournment motion.

"Wana is part of Pakistan and whatever is happening there is a matter of concern for the whole country," the PPP leader said before the chair made a short work of the day's business and adjourned the house until 5.30 pm on Monday.

Mr Sherpao said Thursday's military attack in South Waziristan had killed some 40 mostly Chechen, Uzbek and Arab militants, giving a lower toll than the previous estimates of 50.

"Pakistan's soil was being used for training (of militants) and we had to respond," he said about Thursday's rocket and jet attacks in the area. Complaining that foreign militants allegedly living in the tribal areas did not register themselves with authorities to be able to live there despite a previous agreement with the MMA and tribal leaders from the region, he said: "We still want to negotiate even with the MMA and seek their cooperation."

He assured the house that the military was "not engaging in any activity that could harm Pakistanis" but said the security forces would act in self-defence if they were attacked.

"Wherever there are terrorists, we will act against them because we want to save Pakistan and maintain peace," Mr Sherpao said. The minister denied charges by an opposition member from South Waziristan that innocent civilians were being killed.

Of the three privilege motions about the president's uniform, two were authored by ARD members and one by MMA members - all based on reported statements by some ruling coalition leaders asking the president to remain army chief and the president's own claim that 96 per cent people of Pakistan did not want him to remove his uniform.

The motion called these statements as a "revolt against the Constitution" and an insult of parliament, which had passed the Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill in December that allowed the president to retain his army office until Dec 31.

Trouble started at the start of the proceedings after MMA deputy parliamentary leader Hafiz Hussain protested against what he called a raid on his house and madressah in Quetta by intelligence agencies on Sept 1, and made references to former interior minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, who now holds the portfolio of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas.

Mr Hayat only invited angry remarks from MMA members when he rose to clarify his position and said he was not the interior minister when the raid took place. The tension eased somewhat after a break for Maghreb prayers but the exchanges continued, forcing the chair to expunge what he called unparliamentary remarks made from both sides.