PESHAWAR, Sept 23: Opposition parties in the NWFP Assembly have assured the government that they will endorse its positive actions but will not hesitate to oppose its undemocratic and dictatorial moves.

It was the beauty of democracy, said leader of the opposition Shahzada Mohammad Gastasip Khan, that gave equal opportunities to opposition groups to express their diverse views and keep a check on wrongdoings of the government.

He was speaking after his installation as leader of the opposition by all six opposition groups, notified by Speaker Bakht Jahan Khan here on the first day of the assembly session.

He said all opposition groups had formed a united front to keep the government on a democratic path and sort out differences through peaceful ways of debate and negotiations.

“ The rallying of opposition parties under on banner is not aimed at destabilizing the MMA government. We believe in construction, not in destruction,” he said.

Regarding his nomination as leader of the opposition he said it was an honour for him that all major national political parties had developed a consensus on his nomination.

In the past, Mr Khan said, opposition groups had supported the government on the Shariat Bill and provincial budget. In future they would support its positive moves but oppose its autocratic and undemocratic actions, he added.

Senior minister Sirajul Haq welcomed the nomination of Mr Khan as leader of the opposition in the NWFP assembly and hoped that both sides, opposition and treasury benches, would continue their struggle against dictatorship and for the supremacy of the Constitution in the country.

He said military dictators had been running the country for 27 years, preventing the democratic process from making a meaningful progress.

“We will continue our struggle against dictators,” he said.

Earlier, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malik Zafar Azam termed the nomination of Mr Gastasip as unconstitutional and contrary to the procedure and rules of business. He said that an MPA from a majority party could have been installed leader of the opposition.

Abdul Akbar Khan of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, Anwar Kamal Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani of the PML-Q and Makhdoom Mureed Kazim of the PPP-S told the minister not to make irrelevant remarks after the speaker had issued a notification.

Some other MMA lawmakers also opposed Mr Gastasip’s nomination but three MPAs, Fareed Khan, Shah Raz Khan and Muzaffar Said congratulated Mr Gastasip on being leader of the opposition.

After a ruling by the speaker in favour of Mr Gastasip, Law Minister Malik ZAfar Azam took a U-turn and congratulated him. However, Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani kept quite on the occasion.

Later, some MPAs from Mardan walked out of the house to protest against the lathi charge unleashed on workers of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam on Sunday evening in Mardan. They said that the police had wounded a large number of JUI workers who were staging a peaceful protest against the interference of a federal minister in the MMA affairs.

Afterwards, on behalf of the chief minister, Senior Minister Sirajul Haq introduced the NWFP removal from services bill, 2003.