MULTAN, Aug 22: Former Naational Assembly speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Friday the countdown of assemblies had started.

Speaking at a press conference here, the PPP leader said Gen Musharraf had started finding faults with the performance of the civil government his regime had cobbled after October 2003 general elections through wheeling and dealing.

He said the possible chargesheet against the civil regime would be its ‘inability’ to hold the National Assembly session for mandatory 133 days in a year and create an environment conducive to smooth running of the government.

He said the opposition did not want to wrap up the system, but its principled stand on the LFO and the National Security Council could not be compromised.

Mr Gilani said component parties of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy could resume talks with the government only if the NA speaker revoked his ruling on the LFO, and PML-Q chief Shujaat Husain withdrew his statement about uniform of the president. He alleged that the government was not serious to resolve the political crisis.

PPP’s divisional coordinator Ahmad Hassan Dehar criticized State Minister for Information Technology Barrister Raza Hayat for what he said his misbehaviour with Naheed Khan, a close aide of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, in the National Assembly building on Friday.

He demanded resignation of the minister, saying he was returned on the PPP ticket but later on he defected the party to join the Patriots to secure a cabinet seat.

Meanwhile, PPP workers held a protest demonstration against the minister on the Old Shujaabad Road, alleging that publicizing the Swiss court verdict against Ms Bhutto, resurfacing of Seeta White against Imran Khan and misbehaviour of the minister with Naheed Khan were part of the government’s drive against the opposition leadership.

Meanwhile, Khanewal PPP secretary-general Advocate Javed Hashmi, speaking at a press conference, announced that a protest campaign would be initiated against the minister from Saturday (today).