LAHORE, Aug 15: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy pledged on the 56th Independence Day of the country on Thursday to fight a decisive battle to obviate the possibility of military takeovers in the future and to make Pakistan a country as envisioned by the Quaid-i-Azam, the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif.

At a public meeting at the historic Mochi Gate, thousands of participants raised their hands in support when leaders of various alliance components probed their resolve to banish dictatorship for good, throw away the LFO and bring back home former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif.

ARD president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan presided over the meeting which came to an end by 11pm.

PML-N leader Syed Zafar Ali Shah, who had challenged the overthrow of the Sharif government before the Supreme Court after which Gen Musharraf was given three years to restore democracy, said opposition parties would not let the government bring the LFO to parliament unless a new president was elected in a constitutional manner to complete the composition of the bicameral legislature.

The ARD had asked the people from across the province to participate in the public meeting. But the turnout was rather less than expected, though many speakers continued to call the gathering an “ocean of people”. The audience were seated on chairs, but a few hundred of them near the stage kept standing during the four-hour proceedings.

PPP and PML-N flags and banners with pictures of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif were seen all around. Vociferous slogans “Prime Minister Benazir, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif” were raised during speeches of many a leader.

At times, speeches of various leaders were interrupted by a women group’s slogans and dances, who also waved PPP flags.

Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan “charge-sheeted” Gen Musharraf for overthrowing the PML-N government, arresting an elected prime minister and then humiliating him by chaining him during detention.

He said Gen Musharraf had no right to banish anyone and he had committed a crime by forcing two former prime ministers to stay out of the country.

Reiterating the ARD’s resolve to empower the present parliament, the senior leader demanded that Gen Musharraf should quit immediately. He said since the general had extended his own tenure as army chief, it was of no legal effect.

PPP-Parliamentarians chairman Makhdoom Amin Faheem said the rulers enacted special laws to keep Ms Bhutto out of political process because they knew that her victory would mean their ouster. “We are committed to bringing back Ms Bhutto at all costs”.

The PPP leader, who had been holding talks with the military leadership shortly after the elections in an attempt to form a PPP-PML-Q coalition, said he had been offered premiership if he parted ways with Ms Bhutto. But, he said, he rejected the offer with contempt. “To hell with such premiership”, said the Makhdoom. He said the PPP had never compromized on principles and would not do so in the future. ARD Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said people wanted a genuine democratic system in the country and the four-year ARD struggle was aimed at the restoration of the same. The ARD was committed not to tolerating any military intervention in the future, the leader from the NWFP said, adding people wanted the ouster of Gen Musharraf and return of Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto to power. PML-N acting president Javed Hashmi asked people if they wanted the leadership of Mr Sharif and Ms Bhutto. The audience answered in the affirmative. Then he asked them if opposition legislators should allow the assemblies to work while the LFO was still in the field. “No”, replied the meeting participants.

Hashmi led slogans against Musharraf and in favour of the two former premiers.

PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, in a message read out by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, appealed to military officials to reject luxurious lives and follow the late Gen Tikka Khan who, instead of trying to get plots and plazas, had led a simple life. They should also follow former army chiefs Gen Waheed Kakar, Gen Jehangir Karamat and the late Gen Asif Nawaz who had not used their military position to take over political power.

Ms Bhutto said that her party had held talks with the military leadership during the last three years to find an honourable way to establish a constitutional government in the country. But, she regretted, the other side did not honour its commitments. “They were not sincere with us as we had refused to endorse the military rule”.

Nawaz Sharif said in a message for the rally that more than 4,000 Pakistani troops and officials were killed in the 1999 Kargil operation.

Mr Sharif, in exile since December, 2000, said the plan had been prepared by Gen Musharraf without intimating the government as a result of which the process started to normalize relations between Pakistan and India sabotaged.

Had it not been done, he said, the Kashmir dispute would have been resolved long ago.

According to him, Pakistan was defeated in Kargil, but as the prime minister he covered it up by undertaking a visit to the United States. Had he accepted defeat then, it would have demoralized the army and India would have got an opportunity to invade Pakistan.

Mr Sharif said the mastermind of the Kargil operation, instead of accepting responsibility and resigning voluntarily, overthrew the elected government under dictation from some other quarters.

The deposed prime minister did not identify such quarters.

According to Mr Sharif, Gen Musharraf was behind the protests staged on the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee in 1999. Mr Vajpayee, he said, was not given the honour equal even to the one given to the delegation of parliamentarians and journalists which visited Pakistan a few days ago.

About the problems being faced by the country at present, the exiled former prime minister said they were the result of subversion of the 1973 Constitution and imposition of the LFO. Enemy to the 1973 Constitution was more dangerous than the external enemy, Mr Sharif said.

He said he was happy that democratic forces believing in 1973 Constitution had united.

PPP Secretary-General Jehangir Badr said the ARD was trying to give the country a genuine democracy. He said opposition parties had struggled for people’s rights in the past and they would continue to tread the same course in the future, without any fear.

Resolutions against Gen Musharraf, the LFO, the reported plans to recognize Israel and send troops to Iraq were adopted with voice vote. Some resolutions also demanded that Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif be allowed to come back home.

Saranjaam Khan, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Chaudhry Safdarur Rehman, Qasim Zia, Khalid Kharal, Syed Munir Husain Gilani, Abdul Qadeer Khamosh, Begum Najma Hameed, Mrs Beelam Hasnain, Naveed Malik, Pir Nau Behar Shah, Manzoor Husain Gilani, Pir Binyamin, Munir Ahmed Khan, Mushahidullah Khan and Pir Fazle Haq also addressed.

NEWS CONFERENCE: ARD leaders Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Jehangir Badr and Khwaja Saad Rafiq at a news conference here on Friday thanked the people for participating in the ARD public meeting in such large numbers.