July 05, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 1, 1429

LAHORE, July 4: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Finance Secretary Pervaiz Malik says the military operation in Khyber Agency is a blot on the supremacy of parliament.

Speaking at a meeting held with Nazeer Khan Sawati in the chair here on Friday, he warned that the trend of bypassing parliament on national issues could prove dangerous for the federation.

“The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is bound to consult coalition partners on all important matters and its bid to impose unilateral decisions will cause problems not only for the country but also the alliance itself," he said.

He said problems like inflation, unrest and unemployment were legacy of the previous government and the same could not be overcome as long as Pervez Musharraf was there in the presidency.

LPP: The Labour Party Pakistan staged a demonstration outside the American Consulate here on Friday to condemn US attacks on Afghanistan, Iraq and tribal areas of Pakistan.

The demonstration was especially planned for July 4, the independence day of the US.

The demonstrators were carrying banners and placards and raising slogans against the killing of “innocent people” by US forces in Pakistan’s tribal areas. They called for withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Speaking on the occasion, party’s spokesman Farooq Tariq said the US was usurping the freedom of weaker nations and plundering their resources. He said the US claimed to be a champion of human rights, but its rulers were supporting dictatorship and suppressing democratic forces on the pretext of the ‘war on terror’. He said the US should respect the sovereignty of other nations.