ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: The issue of blasphemous cartoons dominated the National Assembly proceedings on Thursday with the opposition lawmakers asking the government to take ‘firm steps’ to force those responsible to tender an apology and assure that religious sentiments of the Muslims would not be hurt again.

The treasury members expressed satisfaction over the measures the government had taken on the issue and criticised the violent protests.

Several members called for an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to chalk out a joint plan of action and backed a demand that the government should call back envoys from those European countries which were continuing to support newspapers which had published the cartoons.

Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed accused President General Pervez Musharraf of responding inadequately to the extremely outrageous act and warned that the ongoing protest would turn into an anti-Musharraf movement. He said the president was occupying the army chief’s office for the last nine years without any justification and added that Gen Musharraf too was target of public outrage along with US President Bush.

He said deliberate attempts were being made in Europe to weaken the Muslims by targeting mosques and hijab.

“We ask the US to leave us alone as we can live without its support,” he emphasised.

The MMA leader warned General Musharraf, the prime minister and the government against suppressing the Feb 19 rally in Islamabad and challenged their claim of dealing the opponents with an iron hand.

He said that violence during protests had been fuelled by agencies as organisers of those rallies were unarmed and adhered to their promise of keeping peace during demonstrations.

Pakistan, he observed, had been reduced to a weak position by the policy of ‘soft image’ and by moving ahead to repeal the Hudood laws. “The nation wants the general out of power. The sooner the better,” he said.

Qazi Hussain said that in order to overcome this weakness the country would have to get rid of the military rule, restore the constitution, revive the prestige of judiciary and show to the world that “we are capable of defending ourselves”.

Population Welfare Minister Shahbaz Hussain accused the opposition of trying to draw political mileage from the situation and causing damage to national property.

Maimuna Hashmi of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) said that Muslims all over the world had full right to protest against the sacrilege. She said a weak reaction from Ummah had emboldened an Italian minister to announce that he would wear shirts printed with cartoons.

Fauzia Wahab of the People’s Party Parliamentarians called upon the country’s leadership to prepare a plan of action to equip the Ummah with knowledge and technical knowhow.

She said that the opponents of Islam dubbed Muslims as intolerant people and in the present wave of emotional reaction the Muslims should not cross the limits of tolerance.

Tehmina Daultana of the PML-N said the West, by showing arrogance and indifference to widespread protests by Muslims, had proved that it was not a civilized society.

She regretted that plans were ready to bomb Iran while the Muslims were fighting each other and said that the opposition-government tussle was a case in point. The government, she said, was trying to institute cases of terrorism against leaders of her party.

PPP’s Ashiq Hussain Bokhari asked the government to call back its envoy from Denmark and send its ambassador back.

Rubina Saadat of the PPP said that had the government taken a firm stand at the very outset, innocent people would not have lost their lives and national assets would not have been destroyed during protests.

Sher Muhammad Baloch of PPP, MMA’s Abdus Sattar Afghani and Gulzar Sibtain, a treasury member, also spoke before the house was adjourned till Friday to continue the debate.