Islamabad, June 11: Pakistan opposition parties walked out of the parliamentary budget debate for a second day running today, as the conflict between President Pervez Musharraf and hardline Islamists intensified. The 13.8 billion-dollar budget for 2003-2004 is being debated after it was tabled in the House on Saturday above a din of raucous opposition protests. Opposition legislators stormed out of the debate after thumping desks and shouting "go Musharraf go," in a repeat of Monday's boycott, and held a spontaneous news conference in the National Assembly cafeteria to hit out at the Army chief-turned-President.
"His uniform has become a symbol of (public) hatred," Maulana Fazlur Rehman, secretary general of the powerful hardliners' alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), said. The Islamists have been at the forefront of a combined opposition campaign to force Musharraf to quit his dual posts of Army chief and President and submit to an election.
Tensions between the hardliners and Musharraf have burst into the open in recent days, with both publicly lashing out at each other.
Musharraf has launched a tirade against the MMA's Islamisation programme in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), accusing them of tarnishing Pakistan's image and going against the vision of Pakistan's founders by bringing in a Taliban-style version of Islam. Rehman accused Musharraf of resorting to "blackmail".
"We will not succumb to blackmailing and will face every challenge and interference in provincial affairs," the MMA leader said.
Bureau Report