Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Wednesday narrowly survived a parliamentary vote of no-confidence called by the opposition in the stiffest test for her embattled 11-month-old government.
"The opposition has tried to test the constitutional system, which is their right," Bhutto said in a statement following the vote. "With today's clear vote of confidence in the government of Pakistan, this chapter is closed."A total of 107 members of the 237-strong National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, voted for the no-confidence motion, leaving the vote just 12 short of the majority required for it to pass.
In speeches to the Assembly, opposition leaders accused the government of corruption and charged it had allowed the economy to decline, had failed to control ethnic unrest in southern Sind Province and had attempted to destabilize opposition-controlled Punjab Province.
Bhutto, 36, daughter of hanged prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, took office in December following the first democratic elections in 11 years in Pakistan, which has been under martial law for about two-thirds of its 42-year history.
But her Pakistan Peoples Party currently has only 114 National Assembly members, less than half of the total in the chamber, and must rely on the support of smaller parties and independents in order to govern.
The no-confidence motion was tabled by the opposition last week as the PPP's major parliamentary ally, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, which represents the descendants of Indian immigrants, announced it was withdrawing its support for the government.
In the run-up to the vote, both sides accused each other of using bribery and threats and of "kidnapping" legislators in order to win votes in the National Assembly.
"The government and the opposition, the federal government and the provincial governments must now strive together in a spirit of cooperation, civility and goodwill to build a new democratic Pakistan," Bhutto said.
Parliamentary opposition leader Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, a former political ally of Bhutto before last year's elections, told the National Assembly that "had all the members been present, the result would have been different.
"But we bow to the decision of the house," he said. "This is a democratic process and represents a fundamental difference between the present and former governments. It is a major step forward."
Earlier, he accused the government of failures "in all important sectors of public life."
"The government's performance on employment has been disastrous," he said. "Corruption has reached unprecedented heights. There is total chaos in Sind," where he said "nobody is safe or secure."
On foreign affairs, he charged "the government has no policy on Afghanistan" and has traded with friendlier relations with archrival India for "the honor of Pakistan."
"It doesn't matter whether we succeed in this vote or not," another opposition leader, Fazalur Rahman, told the National Assembly. "This motion of no-confidence has shocked the government and if the government doesn't change, then it will face another shock."