16 April 2005	Saturday	06 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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PESHAWAR, April 15: A majority of members of the NWFP assembly staged a token walkout on Friday to condemn what they described as undemocratic steps taken by the governments of Punjab and Sindh to sabotage a rally being organized by the People’s Party Parliamentarians in Lahore on Saturday to welcome Asif Ali Zardari on his return from Dubai.

The lawmakers adopted a resolution demanding unconditional release of political workers, immediate end to police raids on homes of PPP workers and withdrawal of Section 144 the government had imposed across the Punjab.

The resolution was moved by PPP parliamentary leader Abdul Akbar Khan and supported by Anwar Kamal Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Maulana Mohammad Idrees of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.

Mr Akbar Khan called upon the MPAs to walk out in protest against the government’s undemocratic attitude.

He said the government was afraid of the popular leadership and recalled that a few months ago PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif had been sent back to Saudi Arabia after his plane had landed at the Lahore airport.

Mr Idrees suggested that the names of political workers arrested in Gujranwala during protests against women’s marathon be included in the resolution.

But Mr Akbar Khan said he had not mentioned the name of any PPP leader or activist in the resolution but agreed to include ‘all the detained workers should be released’ in the resolution.

After the passage of the resolution, MPAs of the MMA, PPP, ANP and PML-N walked out of the house.