ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: President Asif Ali Zardari, now on a US visit, received a stinging rebuke from the opposition in the National Assembly on Wednesday for his perceived failings, such as retaining the autocratic powers of his predecessor, preferring a hefty cabinet for a government with a begging bowl and going back on commitments to restore all deposed judges.

Opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan also objected to Mr Zardari keeping the office of co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, allegedly using the presidential palace for party meetings and allowing an over 200-strong junket to Saudi Arabia with him early this month, at the start of a debate in the lower house on the president’s address to a joint sitting of parliament in September.

As the only speaker in the debate for the day, he complained of a prevalence of “andher nagri”, or misrule, in what was the harshest attack from his Pakistan Muslim League-N in parliament against a former ally after it left the PPP-led coalition in May, suggesting Mr Zardari’s dinner to Mr Sharif on Saturday had brought the two main parties no nearer to a reconciliation.

Mr Nisar’s charges and demands for a change of course, including the implementation of a Charter of Democracy signed by assassinated PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif in 2006, remained unanswered before the house was adjourned until 2pm on Thursday, when the debate will be resumed.

The opposition leader praised the PPP for forming coalition governments in the four provinces and sharing leadership of parliamentary standing committees with the opposition as in the case of the National Assembly’s key Public Accounts Committee that he chairs, but said that was not enough.

He said practically there was no difference between the situation under former president Pervez Musharraf and now while decisions were still being made in the presidency rather than by the prime minister, the National Security Council created by the former president was still there, and nothing had been done to implement the Charter of Democracy that stipulated the revival of the Constitution to its pre-Oct 12, 1999, coup position, saving some amendments like those providing for increasing women’s seats in parliament, reduction in voters’ minimum age to 18 years and joint electorate.

“How something that was wrong in relation to Musharraf could be right for Zardari?” he asked.

Mr Nisar accused the government of practically making a fun of a joint resolution passed by an in-camera session of the two houses of parliament on the so-called war on terrorism and the Americans should be a given a “cut-off date” to sop drone attacks on Pakistan’s tribal areas from Afghanistan.

He ended his speech with several demands, including separating the president’s house from politics, Mr Zardari’s resignation as PPP co-chairman, restoration of the pre-Nov 3, 2007, emergency judiciary, implementation of the Charter of Democracy and restoration of the 1973 Constitution to its pre-Oct 12, 1999, position.

Other demands included formulation of an independent foreign policy, formation of a house special committee to probe the issue of missing people and submit a report to the house within 15 days, reduction in domestic petroleum prices in proportion to the fall in the world prices, taking people into confidence about electricity loadshedding and bringing the issue of IMF aid and the government’s privatisation policy for discussion in the National Assembly.

PPP member Munawar Talpur, a brother-in-law of President Zardari, got a snub from Mr Nisar for interrupting his speech once to object to his remark that the load-shedding was one of the issues -- others being Kashmir, foreign policy and planned IMF aid -- that were not brought to the house.

“I realise the background of the member …and it would be better if reply comes from a minister rather than a relative,” Mr Nisar said and warned the treasury benches that if they interrupted the opposition leader, then prime minister’s speech could also be interrupted.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan saved the situation by offering an apology for “whatever has happened”.

Some unease was apparent among some PPP women members on the back benches during the opposition leader’s tirade. But Kashmir Affairs Minister Qamaruzzaman Kaira was seen advising patience to them by gestures of his hands.