The combined opposition on Thursday filed an adjournment motion with the Senate, seeking a debate on President General Pervez Musharraf's conditional offer to India of giving up claim on Kashmir.
The motion filed under Rule 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the House contended that President Musharraf, during an interview with an Indian television channel, offered to give up claim on Kashmir, India also showed flexibility on the issue.
"President Musharraf told the channel that Pakistan is ready to give up its stance as per the United Nations resolutions," the motion said. The UN resolutions call for a plebiscite to decide Kashmiris' political future.
Alliance for Restoration of Democracy parliamentary secretary told Business Recorder that it was a paradigm shift in the government's stance, which needed a detailed debate in both houses of the parliament.
He made it clear that if the government did not allow debate, the opposition would raise the issue on a point of order and would not let the treasury skip it. The opposition flayed the statement and maintained that the four-point formula articulated by President Musharraf had not been debated at any forum, not even at the highest elected forum, the parliament.
Opposition senators, who signed the motion, are Opposition Leader Mian Raza Rabbani, Babar Awan, M Anwar Baig, Farooq H Naik, Professor Khurshid Ahmed, Safdar Abbasi, Rukhsana Zuberi and Sadia Abbasi. "It is a major diversion from Pakistan's long-standing stand on Kashmir issue and it has let the cat out of the bag, laying bare factual position taken behind the stream of vague and confused ideas since the peace process was launched," the motion said.