May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 19: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has formed a parliamentary party group in the National Assembly comprising all the MNAs belonging to the component parties.

This was announced by the ARD chief and veteran politician Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan at a press briefing after the alliance meeting held at the PPP secretariat here on Monday.

Flanked by president People’s Party Parliamentarians Makhdoom Amin Fahim and acting president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, the Nawabzada said that at present the new parliamentary group consisted of 78 MNAs. He hoped that more would join soon.

When asked who would be the parliamentary party leader of the new group, he said it would be decided by the MNAs themselves in a meeting which would be held within a day or two. A similar group will also be formed in the Senate, he said.

He said Speaker of the National Assembly was being formally informed about the formation of this group.

On the issue of the Legal Framework Order (LFO), he said the meeting had decided to form various committees to mobilize public on the issue, and to coordinate with other communities and the like-minded political parties.

He said a mass contact committee with central presidents and general secretaries of all the ARD component parties as its members had been formed to suggest ways and means to mobilize the public against the LFO.

The ARD chief said a three-member committee comprising Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had been formed to contact other parties which had similar stand on the LFO.

He said a nine-member Lawyers Coordination Committee had also been set up to chalk out a joint strategy against the LFO. Former minister Syed Zafar Ali Shah is the convener of the committee. Other members are: Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Jahangir Badar and Nafees Siddiqui of the PPP, Saleem Zia and Rafiq Ragwana of the PML-N, Syed Manzoor Ali Gillani (Istaqlal Party), Amanullah Khan (JWP) and Nawaz Gondal (PDP).

The ARD chief praised Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Chaudhry Aitezaz Ahsan and Senator Latif Khoso, who were also present on the occasion, for effectively presenting ARD’s point of view on the LFO at the government-opposition meeting.

Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said the ARD would never accept the LFO as part of the Constitution, and that they had taken this position from the day one.

He said the ARD believed that neither the Supreme Court nor Gen Pervez Musharraf had the right to amend the Constitution.

The ARD in its meeting expressed concern over the fact that there was no president in the country even after seven months and 10 days of the general elections. The ARD demanded announcement of the schedule for the presidential elections as it had already rejected the referendum. The ARD chief said referendum could be held only on controversial issues to seek public opinion and it could not be used for election to any office.

Referring to the statement of Gen Musharraf that no one would come to rescue Pakistan in time of need, he said this statement was a proof of Musharraf government’s failed foreign policy. He warned the government against making any decision on Kashmir without taking the nation and parliament into confidence.

He also asked the government not to roll back Pakistan’s nuclear programme on foreign dictates.

Earlier, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Chaudhry Aitezaz Ahsan and Sardar Latif Khoso briefed the ARD leadership on the progress of the talks on the LFO with the government.

Prominent among others who attended the meeting were Munir Ahmed Khan, Iqbal Zafar JHagra, Nafees Siddiqui, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Malik Hakmeen Khan, Naveed Malik, Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Siddiqul Farooq.