April 7, 2003	Monday	Safar 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD April 6: Chairman Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf Imran Khan on Sunday warned that the government’s soft stand on the US- led aggression against Iraq was not going to spare Pakistan from becoming the next target.

Speaking at a news conference after presiding over a meeting of the central executive committee (CEC) of the party here, Imran Khan criticised the government and the opposition parties for adopting a soft-toned resolution in the Senate on Iraq instead of condemning the US aggression.

He said Pakistan should have taken a bold stand on US-led aggression after garnering the support of other Muslim countries to ensure that it was not made next target.

Imran Khan was flanked by party’s Secretary General Meraj Mohammad Khan, Secretary Information Akbar S. Babar, former foreign minister Abdus Sattar, former SHC Justice Shaiq Usmani and four provincial party presidents.

The PTI chief said it was extremely deplorable that Iraq after having been disarmed through 12 years economic sanctions was being destroyed by heaviest bombing. He said the Americans could not be trusted, as they operated according to their own interests world over.

He said the CEC meeting, after reviewing the political situation in the country had concluded that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) could not become part of the Constitution unless it was brought to parliament for scrutiny and assent.

He said the president could be given indemnity against article 6 of the Constitution after his re-election if he agreed to relinquishing his COAS cap and uniform.

When asked about the MMA’s talks with the government party on LFO, he said the opposition parties were agreed on a number of articles of the disputed document but their stand on president’s keeping the post of the COAS and fresh presidential elections were the issues on which they were not ready to compromise.

Responding to another query about the way out of the constitutional deadlock, he said the MMA’s stand that if president relinquished the office of the COAS he could be elected by parliament was a fair deal in the present circumstances.

Earlier, the party CEC through a resolution sought immediate election of the president as stipulated in the Constitution to complete the formation of parliament. It also called for convening of a joint session of parliament immediately after the president’s election.

“No individual has the right to hold the entire nation and its future hostage by insisting on unconstitutional and illegal ways to remain in power for the country belongs to the people and its vital institutions cannot be mutilated any further on the whims of an individual,” said the resolution.

Through the second resolution, the PTI CEC condemned the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq and called on the government to downgrade normal diplomatic economic and political ties with the two what it termed ‘rogue states’.

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Pakistan must categorically condemn the invasion of Iraq and demand immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the US and British troops from that country.

Islamabad must never recognise any puppet Iraqi government installed by the invaders of Iraq.