ISLAMABAD, Oct 19: combined opposition in the National Assembly has claimed that several treasury members will vote in favour of its no confidence motion against Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain if secret balloting is held.

Speaking at a news conference after boycotting the National Assembly proceedings here on Tuesday, opposition members belonging to the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) said the government had decided to abstain from voting because it lacked trust in its members.

MMA MNA Liaquat Baloch said the combined opposition had already chalked out a strategy for the no trust motion against the speaker. He also regretted the decision to convene a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at a time when the National Assembly was in session. "When a policy-making institution is in session, there is no need to call the meeting of a consultation body," Mr Baloch said.

Another MMA MNA Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman and NWFP Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Durrani would not attend the NSC meeting. He said the MMA had prepared a programme for mass mobilization against the government during Ramazan. He said people would be informed about the uniform issue and the bill introduced by the government, during Friday sermons and gatherings at the time of Taraweeh and Iftar. He said the religious alliance had also planned to hold protest rallies at different places.

People's Party Parliamentarians secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf said the parliament had been made an irrelevant body. He said how could the world accept that there was a democracy in Pakistan in the presence of a president in uniform.

Another PPP MNA Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the situation demanded that the opposition parties should launch a joint struggle for restoration of democracy after putting aside their differences.

Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA Khwaja Saad Rafiq criticized the attitude of the speaker in the National Assembly. He said the speaker had converted the National Assembly into a "school assembly".

Balochistan National Movement MNA Abdul Rauf Mengal said Gen Pervez Musharraf would have to remove his uniform at all costs.

PML-N MNA Tehmina Daultana also spoke on the occasion and termed the present system even worst than martial law.