15 October 2004	Friday	29 Shaban 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: In what seemed to be a sudden change of heart, the government on Thursday rushed through the National Assembly a bill to allow President Pervez Musharraf to remain army chief even beyond December 31, provoking noisy opposition protests and threats of agitation.

The ruling coalition passed "The President to Hold Another Office Bill 2004" in a confusion after Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain abruptly cut short the general debate on a government demand before a female opposition member who had been given the floor could make a speech.

Opposition parties accused the speaker of being partial by allowing the government to bulldoze the bill and gave a notice to move a vote of no-confidence against him before he put the law to vote.

There was no immediate explanation of what prompted the government hurry shown in the absence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and only a few minutes after the president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, had arrived in the house supported by a walking stick - his first appearance in the current session that began on October 8.

But the move was in line with the rush shown by the government with some previous important bills such as last December's The Constitution (17th Amendment) Bill that gave parliamentary approval to President Musharraf's decrees contained in a Legal Framework Order (LFO) but set December 31 to give up as Chief of Army Staff, and another that created the 13-member military-civilian National Security Council (NSC).

It happened after the speaker gave floor to Mrs Tehmina Daultana of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to speak on the bill in continuation of the general debate, or the first reading of the bill, that had begun on Wednesday.

She had just risen to speak when Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afgan Khan Niazi asked the chair to put the bill to vote as enough had already been said about it. The speaker complied with the minister's request, sparking noisy protests from opposition benches.

Though the president was bound by the 17th constitutional amendment and his own public promise to take off his army uniform by December 31, the government relied on another constitutional clause to make a law to exempt him from a disqualification from being president while holding another office of profit.

But opposition speakers argued the reliance on article 63 (1) (d), under which such a disqualification could be waived by law, was not proper as an army chief was also bound by his oath of office not to engage "in any political activities whatsoever" and could not perform political functions of the president.

"This is unconstitutional and it cannot become law... (because) a chief of army staff cannot become the president of Pakistan while the constitution is in force," renowned jurist and National Assembly member of the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Aitzaz Ahsan said about the bill.

"Despite a sinister patchwork, the COAS cannot assume the office of president even if this bill is passed by the Senate and becomes an act (of parliament)," he told reporters while opposition members protested against the government move outside the parliament building and some of their leaders said they would begin a protest movement outside parliament.

The president had promised to give up as army chief by December 31 in a trade-off with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) for its support in the passage of the 17th constitutional amendment by the required two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.

During the five minutes that it took to complete the procedure of passing the bill, all opposition members gathered in front of the speaker's rostrum, chanting full-throated slogans against General Musharraf and the speaker.

The speaker, apparently caught by surprise due to the haste shown by the government for the passage of the bill, tried to woo the opposition by asking Mr Aitzaz Ahsan to talk to the parliamentary affairs minister. He allowed the minister to move the motion for the passage of the bill immediately after asking Mrs Tehmina Daultana to speak on the same.

As the ruling coalition members shouted "ayes" to put a stamp on the bill, MMA leader Liaquat Baloch, standing in the middle of assembled opposition MNAs, loudly said the opposition regarded the whole proceedings as unconstitutional and lacking legal cover as the speaker had become disputed after opposition had filed a no-confidence motion against him with the assembly secretary.

Mr Afgan did not seem to take any notice of the speaker's advice for accommodating opposition's point of view as he asked the chair to go ahead to order a vote after the motion had been moved.

Earlier, the speaker had left the house but returned after a few minutes when an opposition member was speaking against the bill. Political sources said the speaker had discussed the procedure of passing the bill with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain before returning to the house.

Speaking during the general debate, PPP secretary-general Raja Parvaiz Ashraf said the very introduction of the bill in parliament was a negation of democracy as "one individual is being given a licence to violate the constitution".

He said nowhere in the world any parliament had ever surrendered its powers to a dictator as was done now by the ruling coalition, whom he accused of perpetuating the military's interference in civilian affairs and in effect pitching the army against the people at large.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the MMA asked why were the president's supporters putting a scar on the constitution by "such an infamous act" when they tirelessly claimed that he could retain his uniform under provisions of the 17th amendment.

He said Chaudhry Shujaat had categorically assured the MMA negotiating team during talks on the LFO that the president was a man of his word and would fulfil his promise.

TWO MORE BILLS RUSHED THROUGH: Amid the noisy scenes of opposition protests, the ruling coalition also rushed through two more bills without a debate.

One of them - the Gwadar Port Authority (Amendment) Bill, moved by Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghori, amends the Gwadar Port Authority Ordinance 2002 to give representation on the Gwadar Port Authority board to the ministers of finance, industries and production, and environment and a National Assembly member from Gwadar.

The second - the Injured Persons (Medical Aid) Bill, moved by Minister of State for Health Shanaz Sheikh, pertained to the provision of medical aid and treatment to injured persons.

Earlier, the house proceedings were briefly suspended at the start of the question hour after PPP member Naheed Khan pointed out a lack of quorum after the rest of opposition members had slipped away from the hall to a side lobby.

The speaker ordered the bells to be rung and during the next half an hour the government made strenuous efforts to bring coalition members to the house to ensure majority for the passage of the President to Hold Another Office Bill.

The opposition gave a tough time to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar over a call-attention notice that sought a government clarification on a planned floating of 'Islamic bonds'.

Questions from PPP members Ghulam Murtaza Satti, Manzoor Wassan, Ghani Talpur, Nayyar Bokhari and Khurshid Ahmed Shah about the rates of interest and return and resources of the proposed bonds and economic dividends went unheeded as the minister seemed lacking sufficient information about the matter.

The opposition members criticized the government for planning to float the bonds when it was unable to find ways for a fruitful utilization of more than $12 billion it had in foreign exchange reserves. They said the proposed scheme reflected a lack of financial discipline that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had promised to bring through his policies as finance minister.