ISLAMABAD, March 17: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Wednesday promised to allow a mini-debate on Thursday on the latest clashes between troops and suspected militants in South Waziristan tribal agency bordering Afghanistan.
His promise came on Wednesday after several members belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas sought to discuss Tuesday's fighting.
The speaker told the Fata members to raise the matter through a call-attention notice or an adjournment motion and he would allow the debate on Thursday, which would coincide with US Secretary of State Colin Powell's talks with Pakistani authorities that are likely to focus on anti-terrorist operations and the nuclear proliferation scandal.
CHANGES IN TEXTBOOKS: Before the lower house resumed debate on President Pervez Musharraf's Jan 17 speech to parliament, the government rejected charges by MMA members that it was changing textbooks to block Islamic teachings of jihad in the country's schools and colleges.
But Education Minister Zubaida Jalal, speaking during a heated debate, acknowledged that some changes in 'deenyat' syllabus had been made for other considerations, including a check on controversies between Sunni and Shia sects of Islam.
The issue came up in a call-attention notice from MMA member Farid Ahmad Piracha, who said a grave public concern had been caused by the education ministry's constitution of a review committee on reports of two non-governmental organisations - Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Future Youth Group - for what he called "exclusion of the ideology of Pakistan, Quranic verses and other anti-Indian portions" from the syllabi.
The education minister, who was bombarded with questions in this regard, said the SDPI report was found to be biased and was rejected but she made no mention of the report from the other group.
She rejected allegations that changes in the curriculum had been made to secularise the country's education under pressure from the US government and to appease India.
She informed the house that in one textbook, Sura (chapter) Al Towba (repentance) of the Holy Quran had been replaced by sura Al Saff (battle array), which she said had more substance about jihad.
President Musharraf's policies came under severe criticism - during the debate on his speech during two house sittings - from some prominent opposition members like MMA's acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmed, PPP's Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party president Mehmood Khan Achakzai.
However, both the MMA and PPP leaders assured cooperation to Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali if he worked for the supremacy of parliament rather than the presidency of Gen Musharraf, whom they accused of harming national institutions and making Pakistan's policies subservient to foreign dictation.
PPP WALKOUT: In the evening, PPP members walked out in protest accusing the PML-Q's Noor Jehan Panezai, who was in the chair at the time, of not allowing time for more party members to speak.
In the morning, Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat denied PML-N member Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali's allegation made in a privilege motion that his privilege had been breached by police misbehaviour with him and his family when his house in Faisalabad was raided for his detention on Nov 20.
Mr Ali agreed to defer his motion after the speaker assured him that the matter would be taken up during the current session if it were not settled between the member and the interior minister.