{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2130-4", "2002-11-22", 107, 2, null, null, "CONCERNS WITH THE PAKISTANI PARLIAMENT'S RELIGIOUS BLOC", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "ALLOTHER", "E2130", "E2131", "[{\"name\": \"Frank Pallone, Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "148 Cong. Rec. E2130", "Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Pages E2130-E2131]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n        CONCERNS WITH THE PAKISTANI PARLIAMENT'S RELIGIOUS BLOC\n\n                                 ______\n\n                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.\n\n                             of new jersey\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                       Friday, November 22, 2002\n\n  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to\nexpress my concerns regarding the Pakistani Parliament and in\nparticular, the efforts of the Islamic alliance to form a governing\ncoalition in Parliament with either the King's Party, led by President\n\n[[Page E2131]]\n\nMusharraf, or the People's Party, led by Benazir Bhutto.\n  Mr. Speaker, during Parliamentary elections held in Pakistan last\nmonth, members of the Pakistani religious bloc known as the Islamic\nallies unexpectedly won 60 out of 342 seats. Not only was this\nsurprising, but furthermore, the outcome of the elections was divided\nin such a way that no party won the number of seats necessary to form a\ngovernment.\n  As a result, the Islamic allies have been negotiating separately with\nthe pro-Musharraf party and the Bhutto party in an effort to form a\ncoalition and thereby create a majority. Their intent is to demand a\nreversal of constitutional amendments introduced by Musharraf earlier\nthis year, and most importantly, to overturn the amendment that allows\nMusharraf to dismiss Parliament.\n  However, what concerns me greatly is that the members of this Islamic\nalliance, or this Pakistani religious bloc, won their seats based\nalmost exclusively on an anti-American platform. In fact, this party's\nprimary campaign message criticized Musharraf's support for the war on\nterror and denounced Musharraf's cooperation with the United States. In\naddition, a component of this party's message demanded that the U.S.\nmilitary leave Pakistan and Afghanistan immediately. Lastly, the\nIslamic allies have encouraged Pakistanis to offer sanctuary to both\nthe Taliban and Al-Qaeda and to embrace the work of Osama bin Laden.\n  Mr. Speaker, I believe that for these reasons, it is imperative that\nPakistan's religious bloc remain unsuccessful in forming a coalition\nwith Musharraf's party or Bhutto's party. If in fact this party gained\na majority and was able to implement its anti-US policies, the\nconsequences would be devastating.\n  At this stage, it does not seem as if the religious bloc will be able\nto achieve forming a government. However, Mr. Speaker, it is in the\nbest interest of the U.S. to monitor this situation closely.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2130-4"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 73.20096297189593, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}