Pakistan's opposition lawmakers on Tuesday slammed the government for the military operation in Balochistan that killed Baloch rebel leader Nawab Akbar Bugti as also for corruption, price hikes and failure to maintain law and order.

During a debate in the national assembly on a no-trust motion they had moved against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz last Wednesday, leaders of the moderate alliance for Restoration of Democracy and Islamist Muthahida Majlis Amal accused the government of killing civilians in military operations in tribal regions and southwestern Balochistan province.

They also said the government's foreign policy has failed.

Since the killing of Bugti on Saturday, the opposition has made it the prime focus of its campaign against the government.

Accusing Aziz of corruption and failure on all fronts, leader of opposition and MMA general secretary Fazlur Rehman cited a Supreme Court order striking down the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills and said the government should have resigned after that.

Rehman, who opened the debate, said the country was under the grip of military dictatorship and that corrupt practices have been adopted to sell national institutions.

He said the prime minister should step down.

Initially the opposition moved no-trust motion against Aziz alleging this involvement in corruption, his failure to maintain law and order and to check price-hikes.

The no-trust motion has no chance of success as the opposition, which has only 141 members, needs 172 votes to defeat the government. The ruling alliance has 201 seats.

But the opposition leaders maintain that their aim is to expose the government as much as they could ahead of the next year's general elections.

Reports said some 137 opposition members were present in the Assembly hall, when the debate on the motion started.

The opposition lawmakers shouted slogans against Aziz as he entered the national assembly for the debate.

The move against Aziz is the second such move in Pakistan's parliamentary history.

In 1989, Benazir Bhutto [Images] had survived such a move, although much stronger forces were arrayed against her premiership.