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| India-Pakistan |
| NA minus MMA denounces extremism |
| 2007-08-02 |
| National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Wednesday rescued the treasury from a possible embarrassment by abruptly adjourning the house proceedings, which lacked quorum despite the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the NA. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was winding up his speech on law and order with special reference to the Lal Masjid operation when the Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) pointed out the quorum. Sensing the lack of the required quorum, the speaker adjourned the proceedings and asked the minister to complete his speech today (Thursday). Earlier, in a rare consensus in the lower house, NA members across party lines, except the MMA, denounced extremism and called for a national consensus to deal with this growing menace. Expect MMA members, almost all members representing different parties on both sides of the divide called for reforms in the madrassa system and a purge of weapons from society. Mehmood Khan Achakzai, a Baloch nationalist, said taking US threats to strike in Pakistan must be taken seriously and the American government should be given a “rational” answer to the US intelligence reports regarding growing terrorist networks in Pakistan. He also demanded that the speaker convene a joint parliament session and hold an in-camera briefing for the members. |
| Posted by:Fred |