News
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Opp throws weight behind govt moveISLAMABAD: The opposition parties in the National Assembly on Monday extended support to the government for the trial of Pervez Musharraf under Article 6, with some calling for it to start from the events of October 12, 1999 when he overthrew the government of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a military coup. Following the announcement of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to try Musharraf under Article 6 for his November 3, 2007 imposition of emergency, the House expressed all-out support to him in this endeavour. Opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah assured support to the government on Musharraf’s trial and called it the first step towards the greater cause of preservation of democracy. Shah said people have rejected those who called the constitution of Pakistan mere piece of paper, an apparent reference to former military ruler General Ziaul Haq. Shah called for the removal of portraits of all former dictators from state buildings, saying such elements have no space in the representative houses of people of Pakistan. “Whoever, alive or dead, acted against the constitution is condemnable. Move ahead with this step so no one dares to subvert the constitution in future,” Shah urged. The opposition leader appreciated the prime minister’s decision to take parliament into confidence on this issue and called it a right step in the right direction. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Deputy Parliamentary Leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi also announced support for Prime Minister Nawaz over the trial of Musharraf and dubbed it the right step. He, however, urged that this decision will have political implications and parliament should be kept abreast with them. Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Ackakzai also termed the development a positive step which, he said, would usher in a new era. He said that this decision should not be viewed as the victory for one institution and defeat for other. MQM’s Abdul Wasim also offered support to the government on the issue and suggested that Article 6 should be implemented to all military dictators. He proposed declaring all those people who sacrificed their lives for the cause of democracy as “martyrs of democracy”. tanveer ahmed
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk