September 19, 2002	Thursday	Rajab 11, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: Amidst widespread allegations of pre-poll rigging and official patronage of some political groups, a move to bring anti-government parties on one-point agenda of ensuring free, fair and impartial elections has been initiated.

The first meeting of this new initiative was held between the president of People’s Party Parliamentarian, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and the chief of Tehrik-e-Insaf, Imran Khan, here.

“There is a strong realization among the genuine political forces that fair and free elections are in supreme national interest and now they will take a united stand to ensure it,” the secretary-general of Pakistan Tehrik Insaf, Mairaj Muhammad Khan, told Dawn.

A number of political groups and alliances at the national and provincial level have been cobbled together and open official support at governors and chief secretaries level and even through Nazmeen is being extended to them, Mr Mairaj said.

PML-Q, Sindh Democratic Alliance and National Alliance are the main groups pointed out by Mr Mairaj as the major beneficiaries of the government support and backing.

“Rigging will take place at large-scale and a dummy parliament will be installed,” he regretted.

It will be a rubber stamp parliament and used to indemnify all the write or wrong policies of the military government and those framed at the national security council, he said.

“The provincial autonomy will be eroded,” he feared. He said he could clearly foresee the centralisation of more and more powers by the federal government rendering the federation totally meaningless.

He said the financial policies would be dictated by the international financial institutions, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Privatization would be carried out at massive scale and all the assets of the state, including hospitals and educational institutions, would be taken over by the multi-national companies, drastically undermining the economic sovereignty of the country.

Expressing serious concern over the country’s security, he said, Pakistan armed forces were already engaged on three different fronts. “On the Eastern front, they are facing Indian massive deployment and on the western front, it is committed in US-led war against terrorism.”