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Musharraf continued speaking in a measured tone, ignoring the catcalls (AFP)
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ISLAMABAD,
January 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Pakistani
president's first address to parliament since he seized power in a
bloodless coup in 1999 was marred by heckling, strong protests and
walkouts.
Lawmakers
representing the opposition Alliance for Restoration of Democracy
(ARD) booed and chanted hostile slogans but Pervez Musharraf stood his
ground as he delivered his address to a joint session of the two
houses of parliament on Saturday, January 17.
Right
from the start of the session, members of the ARD swung into action
shouting "Shame, Shame" as the general took his seat on the
podium, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Members
of at least six Islamic groups walked out of the session shortly after
Musharraf began speaking, according to Al-Jazeera.net English site.
Others
drowned out his words with shouts of "Down with
Dictatorships", "Go Musharraf Go! and "No Musharraf
No!"."
As
the opposition uproar increased, Musharraf continued speaking in a
measured tone, ignoring the catcalls while government MPs banged desks
on his key points during the 40-minute address.
Musharraf,
who took power in a coup around four years ago, won a confidence vote
from the parliament and provincial assemblies on January 1 after
striking a deal with the powerful Islamic Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
(MMA) alliance.
He
agreed to step down as army chief by the end of 2004 in return for
MMA's support for validation of his sweeping powers, and parliament
last month passed a 17th constitutional amendment allowing him to
retain his posts until then.
The
ARD, grouping the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz (PML-N) of exiled former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto
and Nawaz Sharif respectively, have rejected the amendment, refusing
to accept Musharraf as head of state.
"Musharraf's
address was an extra-constitutional act," PPP leader Amin Fahim
was quoted by AFP as saying.
PPP
Senator Raza Rabbani said the uproar created by opposition MPs showed
the people of Pakistan their resolve to struggle against dictatorship.
"Our
protest was very effective and Musharraf was visibly confused during
his speech. Today's strong protest has given a clear message that we
will not let the General rule the country," PML-N leader Chaudhry
Nisar Ali Khan said.
Police
mounted tight security around the parliament building as chaos reigned
within.
Opposition
legislators vehemently criticized the arrangements and said that
several of their leaders were not allowed to attend the session.
The
government did not allow a flight to land at the Islamabad airport
carrying prominent opposition leaders, according to the MPs.
Pakistan
International Airline spokesman Imran Gardezi told AFP flights were
diverted due to a bomb scare at Islamabad Airport.
"There
was bomb call at Islamabad airport by an anonymous caller due to which
one flight from Karachi was asked to return while a flight from Lahore
was diverted to Peshawar as a precautionary measure," Gardezi
said.
"All
areas of airport were scanned but no bomb was found."
The
government had earlier said the flight from the eastern city of Lahore
could not land at Islamabad airport because of bad weather.
For
his part, Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali denounced the protest as
"un-parliamentary."
"What
they (opposition) did was contrary to the parliamentary norms,"
he said.
Battling
'Extremism'
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A Pakistani army soldier behind an anti-aircraft gun near the parliament house (AFP)
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Musharraf
urged lawmakers and his compatriots to launch what he termed as
"Jihad to eradicate extremism from Pakistani society".
"I
appeal to you and the people of Pakistan to wage a jihad against
extremism," he told parliament.
Musharraf
further said that Pakistan was at a crossroads, facing accusations
from the international community.
He
cited accusations that Pakistan's tribal territory was a source of
terrorism in Afghanistan and of terrorism on the Line of Control in
Kashmir.
Musharraf
said Pakistan's image in the world was that of an "extremist and
intolerant society".
"We
have to take important decisions to correct the image, otherwise our
future generations will have to pay a very heavy price for our neglect
and inaction," he said.
"We
will have to take Pakistan out of the negative perceptions and take
the country to the road of progress."
He
said Pakistan would have to stamp out what he described as "any
terrorist activity from its tribal areas with full force".
The
only way to counter allegations of terrorism in Kashmir was to move
towards a peaceful and just settlement of the Kashmir dispute, he
said.
"The
progress that has been made in that direction has to be taken forward
with sincerity and in keeping with the aspirations of the people of
Kashmir for achieving a solution," Musharraf said.
He
was alluding to his landmark agreement with Indian Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee earlier this month to resume dialogue on all issues,
including the decades-old dispute over Kashmir.
The
agreement came after Musharraf assured Vajpayee that he would not
allow his country to be used for "terrorist activities"
against India or any other country.
Musharraf
told the parliamentarians Pakistan had to convince the world that as a
responsible nuclear power it would not allow any proliferation of
nuclear weapons.
"We
are a nuclear and missile power. Not only do we have to maintain this
capacity but we have to strengthen it further. We cannot neglect this
important aspect for the sake of Pakistan's solidarity and
survival."
Pakistan
has faced accusations that some of its scientists were involved in
handing nuclear technology over to North Korea, Iran and Libya.
The
government has denied it leaked nuclear secrets and is conducting an
investigation into allegations against some scientists whose names
have not been officially disclosed.
Musharraf,
a key U.S. ally in its controversial "war on terror", has
led a tough campaign against "extremism and terrorism" that
triggered a backlash from "local Islamic militants" blamed
for three failed attempts on his life.
In
2002, militants parked an explosive-laden car on his route in the
southern port city of Karachi but the detonation failed and culprits
were arrested.
On
December 14 , a bridge
was blown up moments after Musharraf's car drove over it.
The
second attack came on Christmas Day
when two bombers rammed explosives-laden cars into the presidential
motorcade, killing 15 people while Musharraf escaped unhurt.
