MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 13: Treasury benches in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Friday placed their trust in what they said efforts by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for survival of democratic process and called upon all organs of the state to render their responsibilities in accordance with the Constitution.
The call came through a resolution which was jointly tabled by six cabinet members and a parliamentary secretary and appeared to be the sole reason of the brief but costly session, as it was prorogued sine die soon after its passage by the government.The main opposi-tion PML-N initially indicated that it was in agreement with most of the contents of the resolution but, at the end, did not endorse the document because of government's refusal to redraft a paragraph, eulogising the efforts of Mr Zardari and Mr Gilani.
Instead, the opposition suggested, a call to all stakeholders in Pakistan to 'respect the decisions of the judiciary in letter and in spirit' should be incorporated in the resolution.
Linking the strength and sustenance of democratic process in Pakistan with the success of Kashmir freedom movement, the resolution paid tributes to the PPPled central government, at its out-set, for 'highlighting Kashmir issue at national and international level with a view to getting it resolved in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and wishes of the Kashmiri people.
'Continuousness of the democratic government and democratic process in Pakistan has been strengthening the cause of Kashmir at international level and any loss to democracy will be detrimental not only to Pakistans integrity but also to Kashmir cause,' it said.
Asserting that only the democratically elected government could save Pakistan from internal and external threats, the resolution called upon all democratic forcesin Pakistan to play a positive role for supremacy of the Constitution and progression of democratic process.
'The house believes that it is imperative for survival of democratic process as well as national and constitutional institutions to adhere to the basic principle of the Constitution regarding division of powers,' the resolution said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed said since a democratic Pakistan was a guarantee to the success of Kashmiris' freedom movement all forces should support democracy in the country.
Calling for amendments in the resolution, leader of the oppositionand PML-N chief organiser Raja Farooq Haider maintained that the Supreme Court of Pakistan was the biggest hurdle in the way of any unconstitutional action in the country and therefore the house must send a clear message to all to show respect and regard to its decisions.
'We have reservations about some of its contents and it needs to be redrafted to make it a unanimous voice of this house,' he said.
However, as Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadig held voting and announced that the resolution stood unanimously passed, the house virtually turned into a fish market, compelling the chair to prorogue it sine die amid slogans of 'shame shame' by some opposition lawmakers.