May 29, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16,1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 28: The Pakistan Muslim League has condemned New Delhi for unabated genocide of Muslims in occupied Kashmir and Gujarat by the state-backed Hindu terrorist outfits and called upon the international community to stop India from imposing aggression on Pakistan.

Reacting to Gen Musharraf’s address to the nation on state television the spokesman of the PML said that the party condemns the current jingoistic posture of India but firmly believes that the current tension with the neighbouring country was rooted in General’s defeatist policies and unwanted defensive attitude towards India that has emboldened it to hurl threats of aggression at Pakistan.

“Had Gen Musharraf adopted an honourable way to defuse tension with India it would have not dared to threaten Pakistan with a war”, said the spokesman.

He welcomed the apology of Gen Musharraf for manipulation of referendum results and said that his statement that army was not used in referendum was a blatant lie. He asked the General to accept that not more than three per cent people had voted in the referendum.

He asked Gen Musharraf to accept it with good grace that the referendum results announced by the election commissioner were prepared well in advance by the NRB and was therefore the people were cheated.

He advised the general to immediately disband the NRB and try its chief Tanvir Naqvi for flagrantly violating the constitution and committing a fraud with the people.

The PML spokesman welcomed the declaration of the general elections’ schedule and termed it a step in the right direction but made it clear that in face of the referendum rehearsal, Gen Musharraf’s assurances of free, fair and impartial polls in October could not be relied upon.

He said the General could be trusted only when he immediately frames a consensus national interim government, constitutes an independent and autonomous election commission and unconditionally releases all political prisoners.