LAHORE, June 20: Members from both treasury and opposition benches on Wednesday joined hands with journalists to hold a protest demonstration against the award of knighthood to Salman Rushdie by the British government.

Shahnaz Saleem of the PML-N was commenting on the budget estimates for 2007-08 when Speaker Afzal Sahi interrupted her to read out a message from the Press Gallery Committee regarding the demonstration.

On a point of order, Deputy Opposition Leader Rana Sanaullah invited all the members to join the journalists’ protest before Speaker Sahi adjourned the proceedings for 10 minutes.

Ministers Imran Masood, Chaudhry Iqbal and Amir Sultan Cheema, oppositions’s Rana Sanaullah and Arshad Baggu, almost all the women MPAs were prominent among the legislators present in the house who joined the demonstration.

Strongly condemning the UK government’s action of honouring the blasphemer, the participants chanted slogans against him and said no Muslim could even think of any compromise on the glory of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) as it is a matter of their faith.

Expressing the resolve that the entire Ummah would sacrifice their lives for the veneration of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), they demanded that the UK government should immediately revoke its decision.

Speaker Sahi, after resumption of the proceeding half-an-hour later, termed it a good omen that both the members of the treasury and opposition were unanimous in expressing solidarity with journalists to condemn Rushdie.

“Difference of opinion and disagreement over issues between treasury and opposition benches has been a routine matter. The government has always accommodated and paid heed to the due criticism by the opposition that has been within the ambit of ethics,” said the speaker while urging all the members to bring a positive change in their behaviour during the last parliamentary year and exhibit the same unity as they did in today’s demonstration.

Law Minister Basharat Raja, on a point of order, thanked all the members of the house and the journalists for projecting the sentiments of all Pakistanis and the entire Ummah.

“The media has always portrayed national stance on various issues in a forceful way and today’s demonstration is an example in this regard. Opposition’s cooperation is a good omen and we hope they will continue supporting the government on issues of national importance,” the law minister said.

Zahoor Ahmad Daha, on a point of order, called for some concrete steps instead of adopting resolutions and holding demonstrations. The house should urge President Pervez Musharraf to demand extradition of blasphemer Rushdie from the US to Pakistan.

On a point of order, Arshad Baggu said Rushdie was an Indian national and “we should demand his extradition on the ground that he desecrated our Holy Prophet.”

Speaker Sahi observed that a committee, comprising Law Minister Basharat Raja, Zahoor Daha, Rana Sanaullah, Arshad Baggu, and some other members of the house should be constituted to discuss the matter and give recommendations in this regard.

FATEHA: Arshad Baggu, on a point of order, drew the attention of the house towards news reports regarding the killing of 40 people, including children, in a seminary at North Waziristan. He said according to a military spokesman the victims were making a bomb at the seminary which went off while the residents of the area said the building was hit by missiles of the coalition forces. The house offered fateha for the deceased.

BUDGET: The general debate on budget estimates for the 2007-08 fiscal concluded with the opposition benches terming the figures concocted while the treasury members declaring the allocations as historic.

Rana Sanaullah said the government was attempting to mislead the masses by giving the impression that the budget allocations had been raised up to Rs356 billion.

“The volume of 2006-07 budget was Rs274 billion and with the addition of Rs70 billion supplementary grants, its actual size stands at Rs344 billion. In fact, the total increase for the 2007-08 fiscal is Rs12 billion,” he said.

The Sialkot-Lahore Motorway, he said, “exists on papers and not more than 15 to 20 per cent work has been completed on the Lahore Ring Road Project. But now they have allocated Rs57 billion for the Mass Transit Rail System in Lahore. The total allocation for development has been Rs150 billion. With their concentration on Lahore and Sialkot districts, only Rs93 billion will be available for the rest of Punjab. Two third or Rs70 billion of this amount will have to be spent on completion of the ongoing schemes which means only Rs23 billion would be left for development in the province. This jugglery of figures is aimed at mustering public support in the forthcoming general elections.”

Furthermore, Rs57 billion would be required for these projects and the government has no funds for the purpose.

Quoting from the budget documents, he said Rs1.38 billion had been earmarked for the Governor’s and the Chief Minister’s houses “where two princes reside as there are 92 drivers, 58 waiters, 58 peons, 36 sanitary workers, 10 cleaners and three gift packers working there. It is an unnecessary burden on the kitty.”

Winding up the debate, Finance Minister Husnain Bahadur Dareshak said the views expressed by Mr Rana and other opposition members were apprehensions based on lack of knowledge and poor understanding of the government’s functioning.

Record funds, he said, had been allocated for the less developed areas in the Annual Development Programme to ensure a balanced growth in the province.

Giving details, Mr Dareshak said Rs250 million had been set aside for Gujrat district while the allocation for Dera Ghazi Khan district had been Rs610 million, Mianwali Rs470 million, Rajanpur Rs870 million, Multan Rs1,000 million and Muzaffargarh Rs1,100 million.

“Better financial management in the province has helped us create fiscal space of Rs24.24 billion which would be utilised for the welfare of the public. No new tax has been imposed in any of the budgets during the last five years,” he said while dispelling the impression that any road user tax was being levied.

The level of poverty, Mr Dareshak said, had been brought down from 34 per cent to 20 per cent during the last four years and more than 3.5 million new jobs created.