AGL 38.50 Increased By ▲ 0.93 (2.48%)
AIRLINK 132.50 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BOP 5.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.71%)
CNERGY 3.81 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (1.06%)
DCL 8.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-2.48%)
DFML 40.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.49%)
DGKC 88.80 Decreased By ▼ -1.36 (-1.51%)
FCCL 35.30 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.63%)
FFBL 66.54 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.06%)
FFL 10.55 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (3.94%)
HUBC 109.70 Increased By ▲ 3.30 (3.1%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.41%)
KOSM 7.08 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (3.36%)
MLCF 42.67 Increased By ▲ 0.87 (2.08%)
NBP 59.50 Increased By ▲ 0.92 (1.57%)
OGDC 184.00 Increased By ▲ 2.75 (1.52%)
PAEL 25.69 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
PIBTL 5.90 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.2%)
PPL 147.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.75 (-0.51%)
PRL 23.60 Increased By ▲ 0.38 (1.64%)
PTC 16.49 Increased By ▲ 1.25 (8.2%)
SEARL 68.98 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (0.28%)
TELE 7.25 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.14%)
TOMCL 36.10 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.28%)
TPLP 7.57 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.3%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.90 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.1%)
UNITY 26.77 Increased By ▲ 0.37 (1.4%)
WTL 1.23 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.65%)
BR100 9,808 Increased By 39.7 (0.41%)
BR30 29,809 Increased By 408.8 (1.39%)
KSE100 92,289 Increased By 351.3 (0.38%)
KSE30 28,787 Increased By 43.7 (0.15%)

Over 100 lawmakers walked out of Egypt's parliament on Sunday to protest government moves to push through constitutional laws that opponents fear will entrench the ruling party's grip on power.
The parliament, dominated by President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, approved a number of amendments in principle on Sunday and is expected to pass the entire package with a vote on Tuesday. A public referendum on the proposed changes would then be held early next month.
Analysts say the measures appear to target the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition movement, because they include a ban on political work based on religion and give the state sweeping security powers.
"We have decided to boycott these sessions to clear our conscience ... and let the National (Democratic) Party bear the responsibility before the people," Mohamed el-Katatny, head of the Brotherhood's parliament bloc, told reporters after leaving the parliament session.
London-based Amnesty International has called the proposed laws "the greatest erosion of human rights" since emergency laws were reinstated in 1981 after the killing of President Anwar Sadat.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Sunday criticised the rights group and said the laws were a domestic issue.
"Non-Egyptians do not have the right even to merely give their opinions about an issue that is considered at the heart of the country's internal matters," he said in a statement.
More than 100 lawmakers of the 454-seat legislature, mainly Islamists and a handful of independents, protested outside parliament as the session got underway. Some carried yellow banners saying the laws spelt the end of free elections and civil freedoms.
"Judgement Day will be tough on you," independent legislator Alaa Abdel-Moneim told ruling party lawmakers before leaving the chamber. Majority leader Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin criticised the opposition walkout as "intellectual terrorism." At the heart of the opposition's fury over the amendments is an anti-terrorism clause that gives police greater arrest powers and wide authority to monitor private communications. The amendments would also weaken the role of judges in overseeing elections.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

Comments

Comments are closed.