No-trust motion against Pak PM defeated

Islamabad: Amid uproarious protests over the killing of Baloch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and allegations of corruption, a no-trust motion by the Opposition against Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was defeated in the Parliament Tuesday night.

Much on the expected lines, the no-trust motion by leaders of the moderate Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and Islamist Muthahida Majlis Amal was defeated by over 200 votes at the end of fiery speeches by several Opposition leaders over the killing of Bugti. They also protested the irregularities in the privatisation process in the country.

Countering the charges, Aziz and his ministerial colleagues put up a strong defence during the debate after which the motion was put to vote by Speaker Amir Hussain.

Hussain announced that 136 members voted in favour of the Opposition motion in the 342-member House.

"The failure of the Opposition is victory for democracy," Aziz said after the voting.

Earlier, the Speaker overruled the Opposition's demand to hold a secret ballot and instead the voting was held in open with the ruling and Opposition party members lined up in different sides of the House to register their votes.

Wearing black bands to protest the death of Bugti, whose body is yet to be traced by the army, members from ARD and the MMA chanted "shame, shame" and anti-government slogans when Aziz walked into the House to take part in the debate.

Since the killing of Bugti on Saturday, the Opposition has made it the prime focus of its campaign against the government.

The Opposition parties have been claiming that several members of the ruling coalition promised to vote for the motion.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) coalition, however, cited a previous precedent of open voting when a similar no-confidence motion was moved against the then government by Benazir Bhutto in 1989. Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) spearheaded today's no-trust move.

The opposition presented a "charge-sheet" against the government which included the recent Supreme Court judgement striking down privatisation of government owned Pakistan Steel Mills, (PSM) on the grounds of irregularities.

The members also accused the government of massive corruption leading to a recent crash in the country's stock market in which hundreds of people lost their fortunes.

Leader of Opposition and MMA General Secretary Fazlur Rehman cited the recent Supreme Court order striking down the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills and said the government should have resigned after that.

Rehman, who opened the debate, said the country was under the grip of "military dictatorship" and "corrupt practices have been adopted to sell national institutions".

The Opposition had moved the no-trust motion against Aziz a week back alleging this involvement in corruption, his failure to maintain law and order and to check price-hikes.