ISLAMABAD, March 19: A treasury MNA on Thursday advised Gen Pervez Musharraf to ignore the Dec 31 deadline and continue as president in uniform as the country 'is passing through difficult times'.

Taking part in the debate on Gen Musharraf's Jan 17 address in parliament, MNA Ghulam Sarwar Khan accused the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal of backing out of its commitment on the establishment of the National Security Council.

Mr Awan said the MMA had assured the government that the alliance would support it when the bill for formation of the NSC would be presented before the house.

"Now the MMA people say they are not bound to support the government on the bill," Mr Khan regretted. "If the MMA is backing out of its commitment, then Gen Musharraf should also ignore the Dec 31 deadline and continue in uniform," he said amid slogans of "shame, shame" from the opposition benches.

Besides, Mr Khan's remarks on the performance of the Nawaz Sharif government agitated the PML-N members, who protested against the speaker's attitude for allowing the member to speak 'out of context' and for giving him more than the allotted time.