ISLAMABAD, April 5: The political secretary of the PPP chairperson, MNA Naheed Khan, has criticized, what she termed, the regime's efforts to undermine the parliament by introducing the National Security Council bill by force.

The MNA, in a statement, said at a time when the country was facing colossal prices, the regime was hell-bent on gaging the parliament and with it the voice of the people.

She said the country was under a state of undeclared martial law and the government was being used as a puppet by the generals. Ms Khan said it was unfortunate that the generals continued to refuse to learn any lessons from the past. Dictators like Ayub, Yahya and Zia all wanted power in their hands and the country was dismembered, destroyed and its people were forced to suffer, she added.

"Gen Pervez Musharraf is following the footsteps of his predecessors and wants to consolidate powers in the hands of unelected coterie of generals just to undermine the parliament."

The secretary said if the generals were sincere with the country then they should immediately stop dreaming about ruling it and its people. She said formation of the National Security Council with members overloaded with brass was a denial of parliamentary system, and reiterated the PPP resolve to oppose it with the people's power.