ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: PML-N’s senior vice-president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said on Tuesday that the PPP-led coalition government had lost its majority in the National Assembly. However, he said, the government faced no threat of no-confidence move.

Talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Mr Hashmi renewed his party’s demand for immediate reinstatement of the deposed judges, including chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and repeal of the 17th Amendment.

He said that in the 342-member lower house, 172 members were with the opposition. “At present, there are 170 members on treasury benches and 172 on the opposition benches.”

He said the PML-N had 92 members, PML-Q 56 and the MQM 24 and the combined opposition strength was of 172.

Although, the number is correct on the basis of party position in the assembly, Mr Hashmi has also counted members of the PML-Q forward bloc and the MQM which supports the government.

Mr Hashmi said his party could raise opposition strength to over 200, but it did not want to do anything to destabilise the government. “We want to see the PPP and its allies in power,” he said.

The PML-N leader regretted that the nation was losing faith in the political leadership due to the continuation of the policies of former military dictator Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

He said the country was still being run under the presidential system introduced by Gen Musharraf.

Mr Hashmi said his party could not forget that PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed her life for the sake of democracy. Benazir Bhutto’s sacrifice demanded a complete parliamentary system and an independent judiciary.

Criticising the government’s decision to privatise the Qadirpur gas field, he said the last two PPP governments had failed due to wrong policies. The PML-N did not want to see the PPP government collapsing again due to its wrong policies, he added.

He assured the government that his party would support every step be taken to strengthen democracy in the country.