LAHORE: National Security Council Secretary Tariq Aziz said on Saturday the National Security Council (NSC) was subordinate to parliament which could disband it with two-thirds majority.

Addressing the first-ever meet-the-press programme at the Lahore Press Club, he said the future of the government and parliament hinged on the solidarity of the parliamentarians. He said the army had no role in the democratic set-up.

He said Pakistan's nuclear programme was conditional to that of India and if the later reduced its nuke capability, Pakistan would follow the suit. However, he maintained, Pakistan would not undermine its nuclear status. At the moment, he asserted, there was no pressure to cap the programme.

He said Pakistan would be the last Islamic country to recognise Israel and that too if the other Islamic countries recognised it.

On the visit to Kahuta by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Tariq said it was in the ministerial capacity and he wanted to discuss some suggestions.

On the budget proposals by the Senate, he said the government acted in haste while rejecting the proposals and they could have been incorporated after making them more acceptable.

On the government-opposition dialogue on the LFO, he said the deadlock occurred when the latter deviated from their seven-point agenda.

He said that the NSC had not yet met for absence of the opposition leader.

He said that during the dialogue between the opposition and the government, it had been agreed that the formation of the NSC should be done through parliament and not the Constitution.

He said that the NSC had been made more democratic than it was 1985. The prime minister, opposition leader, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker and all four chief ministers had been given representation in the council. He said that at the time of the NSC formation, one sentence had been altered that had changed its role to a consultative body.

Tariq said any member of the council could convene the NSC meeting and even the president could be given suggestions if he tried to interfere unnecessarily.

Rejecting any constitutional crisis in the country, he said the Supreme Court had given General Pervez Musharraf authority to amend the Constitution and he had not made any such amendment as were not in the Constitution before 1999. As far as the election reforms were concerned, no body had any objection, he said.

About the National Finance Commission, he said that President Musharraf in his last six months had resolved many issues but the NFC was left to the political leadership.

He said Kalabagh Dam could not be built without consensus as it needed loans and international financial institutions were not willing to fund it in the absence of any agreement among the provinces.

He said the general elections were not engineered. Had they been the MMA would not have emerged as the leading party in the NWFP. There was split mandate in Sindh, Balochistan and the Centre while in the Punjab the PML-QA had got the majority.

Responding to a question about Gen Pervez Musharraf's retaining the presidency after deadline of the time-frame given by the Supreme Court, Tariq said the court had given him three years besides the authority to amend the Constitution, and by virtue of an amendment he assumed the office of the president.

About reduction in tax on horse races in the Punjab, he said nowhere in the world 200 per cent tax was imposed on entertainment. He said that it was not objectionable that the government had reduced the tax on horse racing because Quaid-e-Azam and Fatima Jinnah were also fond of races. He rejected that he or any body else placed bets on horse racing.

To a query that he was acting as a "godfather" of a mafia, he asked the reporter to meet him separately and said that his invitation should not be considered as a threat.

To a question that Tariq was holding a powerful slot and political manoeuvring after elections had been done at his behest, he questioned the newsmen if they would agree to his answer that he was not involved in whatever was attributed to him regarding the national affairs.