March 05, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 26, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, March 4: The entire opposition in the AJK Legislative Assembly staged a token walkout here on Tuesday as the house, chaired by speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir, was doing legislation after the question hour.

The walkout was triggered by the introduction of a piece of law — The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Mangla Dam Housing Authority Ordinance, 2008 — by law minister Abdul Rashid Abbasi, which made the People’s Party president, Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, emotional.

Delivering a charged speech, Mr Majeed, who represents many of the people affected by the proposed dam extension project, said the government had not taken them into confidence on this important issue.

He alleged that while the affected families were crying for rehabilitation, the government was bent upon squandering the funds meant for their welfare.

He also tore apart the draft of the ordinance before moving out of the house along with other opposition lawmakers. They later returned to the house.