ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: Members of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Wednesday submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against the Punjab Assembly for passing a resolution in support of President Gen Pervez Musharraf's uniform.

ARD parliamentary secretary Izhar Amrohvi told Dawn that the motion had been moved by 10 members under Rule 78 of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992.

Those who have signed the motion are Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Sherry Rehman, Syed Khursheed Shah, Tehmina Daultana, Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan Nasir, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Fauzia Habib, Khawaja Mohammad Asif and Abdur Rauf Mengal.

The ARD members have stated that the motion related to a "specific matter and needs the intervention of the National Assembly" to express its "displeasure besides other actions under the Constitution".

The motion states: "The majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly on September 13, 2004, passed a resolution demanding President Gen Pervez Musharraf to retain the offices of the chief of the army staff and the president even after December 31, 2004, deadline fixed by the 17th Amendment to quit one of them."

It says: "The resolution passed by the members is absolutely against the spirit and fact of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In this connection, we refer the oath taken by the members of the provincial assembly which is very clear and unambiguous in which members have declared solemnly that they will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Pakistan."

The ARD members said since the Constitution was a federal subject in the sense that it could only be amended under Article 239 of the Constitution by the parliament and any resolution or remarks specially by the government functionaries amounted to subversion of the Constitution.

"It is, therefore, requested that the matter should be taken up on the floor of the house for discussion otherwise a Pandora's Box will open if such anti-constitution activities are not stopped forthwith," they said in the motion.

Meanwhile, nine members of the ARD also submitted an adjournment motion to the National Assembly under Rule 92 of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992 demanding a debate on a statement of Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf regarding presence of "RAW terrorists" in the province.

The ARD members, in the motion, stated that Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf had disclosed in the Karachi Press Club that there were various training camps, in which according to him, terrorists were being harboured to create trouble in the province.

The chief minister, the ARD members said, had made a reference in this regard to the Indian intelligence agency RAW because none of the Baloch Waderas had the capacity to finance such an operation.

"The disclosure of the facts of training camps in Balochistan is a matter of national importance which needs a discussion on the floor of the house adjourning the business of the National Assembly," the motion states.

The adjournment motion has been signed by Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Tehmina Daultana, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, Sherry Rehman, Abdur Rauf Mengal and Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.