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

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ISLAMABAD, May 19: Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, acting president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, says the opposition parties have so far adopted the politics of compromise, but there could be no compromise on agreeing to perpetuate the army’s role in governance.

In a Dawn Dialogue interview in Islamabad, Mr Hashmi said: “Politicians have never compromised on the issue of uniform. we will not do justice to our history and future generations if we compromise on this.”

Mr Hashmi claimed the army had planned to overthrow his party’s government much before the October 12, 1999 coup took place hours after the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had ordered the sacking of Gen Pervez Musharraf as Chief of the Army Staff.

He said the Kargil operation had thwarted genuine moves by Mr Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to improve relations between their countries and find a solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Mr Hashmi, who became PML-N acting president after Nawaz Sharif was sent into exile to Saudi Arabia in December 2000, said government agencies that were used to manipulate last October’s general election and marginalize the mainstream parties like the PPP and the PML-N were still continuing their efforts to force his party members to switch loyalties.