NWFP assembly meets today

PESHAWAR, Oct 2: Parties in the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) on Tuesday requisitioned a session of the NWFP assembly to discuss a four-point agenda.The move came one day after opposition members had filed a no-confidence resolution against Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, pre-empting APDM move to get the assembly dissolved.The requisition, signed by 39 lawmakers from the ruling MMA, Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, seeks a debate on net hydel profit, annual development programme, Tameer-i-Sarhad Programme and the law and order situation in the province.Speaker Bakht Jehan Khan told Dawn that the assembly would be summoned on Wednesday to discuss the four-point agenda.The no-confidence motion, though unlikely to get through owing to the absolute majority enjoyed by the chief minister in the 124-member house, was moved on Monday to prevent the dissolution of the NWFP assembly and enable President Musharraf to get re-elected for the second term.All 80 legislators of the APDM are planning to resign from the NWFP assembly to frustrate the move to keep the assembly intact till the presidential polls on Oct 6.PML (N) parliamentary leader Anwar Kamal Marwat told reporters that parties in the APDM had deferred the resignation plan to counter the opposition’s no-confidence move signed by 31 MPAs belonging to the PML and PPP-S and independent members.Constitutional experts said the chief minister could not advise the governor to dissolve the assembly after the filing of the no-confidence resolution.Mr Marwat said that under the Constitution, the chief minister was not in position to recommend to the governor to dissolve the assembly for the next seven days. He, however, said that APDM legislators would boycott the presidential election.