JEDDAH, 25 June 2003 — President Pervez Musharraf does not want to scrap the present civilian government headed by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, but the political impasse caused by the opposition over the LFO issue has the potential to harm democracy immensely, Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, president of the Pakistan Muslim League, Quaid-e-Azam group, said here yesterday.
Shujat, who is also the parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, told a gathering of Pakistanis: “If the government-opposition confrontation drags on for long, democracy will suffer.”
He said the no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition to oust the speaker of the National Assembly was bound to fail because the opposition is far short of the required mandate to push the motion through. The opposition can at best garner the support of 145 members, but they need at least 172 votes to win the no-trust motion on June 28.
He said the ruling party wanted the democratic process to continue and strengthen and had invited the opposition for talks on June 29.
Shujat said he did not aspire to the premiership and preferred to name a prime minister who did not come from Punjab. He said there was consensus that his nominee for the premiership would be supported by all parties.
Shujat said he was given a free hand to nominate anybody, even himself, for the premiership.
He said MMA leaders Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad promised to extend their support to a consensus candidate but had now reneged on their promise.
He said they flooded meetings with endless lists of demands. “When we accept most of those, they come with new ones,” he added.
Shujat said the LFO was not an issue that affects the common man. Rather, politicians were trying to make it an issue for their vested interests.
Shujat said the opposition acted in haste when it tabled the no-confidence motion against the speaker.
He urged the opposition members not to make the LFO an issue and instead work for the promotion of democracy and the development of the country.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia retired Adm. Abdul Aziz Mirza and members of the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nazir Ahmad and Chaudhry Shahbaz, were also present at the meeting.
