ISLAMABAD May 27: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has invited all the opposition leaders again to an all parties conference, second within two weeks, on Friday.
The president had echoed his intention of reinviting these political leaders in what he called the larger interest of the nation during his speech at the Seerat Conference on Saturday.
Informed sources in the opposition circles said that the fresh invitation would be accepted and the leaders who had kept themselves away from the previous conference would attend the APC on May 31.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, a conglomerate of six religio-political parties, is meeting in Lahore on Tuesday to take a decision in this regard, JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman told newsmen.
Information Minister Nisar A. Memon, who has been assigned the task of extending the invitations, has already held meetings with PML(N) chairman Raja Zafrul Haq and MMA leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmed of Jamaat-i-Islami and Maulana Fazlur Rahman of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam. Mr Memon is expected to meet PPP’s senior vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Faheem in Karachi and ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan in Khangarh during the next 24 hours.
After meeting with Maulana Fazl, the minister declared that there was no policy shift on Kashmir issue as it was based on principles. He reiterated that moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris would continue as they are struggling for attaining their right to self-determination.
Referring to ballistic missile tests, he said those were carried out to fulfil the country’s internal technical requirement.
He told newsmen after meeting the JI chief that he had contacted by phone almost all the leaders, including Makhdoom Amin Faheem, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Allama Sajid Mir and Maulana Samiul Haq, and would be visiting them as soon as possible. He further said that Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan chief Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani was abroad so he had contacted JUP leader K.M. Azhar in Lahore.
Raja Zafarul Haq told Dawn that he had impressed on the minister to ask Gen Musharraf that if he was true in his words that he had shun his personal differences with his political foes in the interest of national security and unity then he should allow Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to come back and play their political role.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed said: “We will take a unified stand keeping the national interest high as we did while boycotting the earlier conference.”
Asked whether he had put some pre-conditions for attending the APC, he said: “I have submitted my point of view that if the president sees a real threat to the national security then he must appoint a full-time COAS who can pay full attention to defence and reconstitute the election commission to ensure fair and free polls”.
He demanded withdrawal of all the army officers working against civilian posts so that they could be sent to their formations. An interim national government, he said, was also the need of the hour.
