LAHORE, Jan 1: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said the trust vote obtained by President Gen Pervez Musharraf will escalate the pace of economic reforms and bring about political stability in the country.

Talking to reporters on Thursday after the vote in the Punjab Assembly, he said the opposition should "accept the reality and bow before the will of the majority."

Answering a question about the defection of three MMA MPAs, he said the government's relations with the religious parties alliance were going well. He denied having put any pressure on the MMA members to force them give vote of confidence to the president.

He criticized the opposition, saying the real opposition in the parliament was the MMA and the ARD component parties. He said the opposition - the ARD component parties - lacked commitment for democracy. "These parties and their leaders take instructions from Jeddah and Dubai instead of themselves making decisions that are beneficial for the country and its people," he said.

QASIM ZIA: The opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly termed the passage of the 17th amendment and vote of confidence for the president a "result of pressure."

He said the ruling party legislators had been ordered to vote for the president in the Army House. But, he added, the opposition would never accept a government official as the president of the country.

Mr Zia also castigated the MMA for striking a deal with the dictator. He said the MMA had disappointed the people by silently supporting the extra-constitutional step of trust vote for the president.

He said the creation of the MMA itself had become suspect in the eyes of the people after its agreement with the government on the LFO. "Now the people have begun saying that it had been formed to complete a specific agenda," he said.