ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The government on Wednesday rejected as baseless the opposition’s “charge-sheet” submitted along the no-trust motion. “The so-called charge sheet is nothing but a pack of lies,” Minister of State for Information Senator Tariq Azeem told a press briefing here.

He termed the no-confidence motion as a futile exercise and said the opposition was aware it could achieve nothing.

He said the opposition was trying to destabilise the democratic process by working for confrontation and polarisation in politics.

He said there was no justification for no-confidence motion because all democratic institutions were functioning well and the country was marching forward on the path of progress and prosperity.

Referring to conflicting statements of top opposition leaders, Mr Azeem said disunity was visible in the opposition’s ranks because of divergent ideologies and separate political aims.

He said expressing views on the government’s bill for protection of women’s rights was the democratic right of everyone, but it was an unfair and immoral behaviour to tear up copies of the draft which mentions the Holy Quran. The action was also tantamount to desecration, he added.

He said the draft of the Bill would be examined by the Select Committee and both the Houses of the Parliament would discuss it in detail.

He said the government would fully defend the proposals given in the Bill because they had been prepared in consultation with religious and legal experts.

Meanwhile, while talking to Dawn, Mr Azeem rejected the allegation of back-door privatisation levelled by PML-N Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal.

He said that baseless allegations had been levelled about irregularities in the privatisation process of an organisation which had not yet been privatised.

He said the PECO was also among the state-owned enterprises that were to be privatised in future, adding the sale of its shares in the open market was not something unusual.

He said the government had full administrative control over PECO.