PESHAWAR, Feb 13: Leaders of Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (Ponam) on Wednesday rejected outright President Musharraf’s government reforms, urging him to hand over power to the Supreme Court judges who had refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order.

“The Ponam renounces the so-called constitutional reforms of the military regime, while the existing constitution requires drastic amendments,” the movement’s central leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai told newsmen.

The heads of Ponam’s component parties from Sindh, Balochistan, the NWFP and Seraiki belt attended the day-long meeting and discussed the prevailing political and economic situation in the country.

Achakzai said the country was at the crossroads and the military was running the country under an undeclared martial law. It had also planned to introduce more amendments to the Constitution. But, the nationalist forces would not allow them to go with their anti-democratic agenda, he added.

He said the country could not afford such harsh experiences in the wake of rapidly changing situation in the region. “Getting out of the ongoing crisis, Pakistan needs a new constitution, an independent national assembly, restructuring of federating units on cultural and geographical identities and empowering people of smaller nations by recognising their right to govern their units,” he argued. Fair and transparent democratic system was the only way to make Pakistan a progressive and prosperous country, he maintained.

Replying to a question, the Ponam leader said that nationalist groups believed in strong military, but they were not ready to give any constitutional role to the armed forces in the political setup. The country’s democratic institutions could never be flourished unless the military interference was stopped for ever, he said, adding that its consequences will be very negative. He urged political parties not to play a dirty role by supporting the military establishment.