October 31, 2003	Friday	Ramazan 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto and the chief of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif, have condemned the arrest of ARD President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and demanded his immediate release.

The former prime ministers, in their messages released here on Thursday, termed the arrest of Mr Hashmi a blow to democracy and demanded withdrawal of cases against him.

Mr Sharif termed the arrest a “worst example of state terrorism”. He said the arrest of the ARD president at a time when parliament was in session had exposed the real face of the “puppet government,” which had been claiming the restoration of democracy in the country. He said the incident showed that there was a martial law in the country.

He said the government wanted to deceive the nation and the international community by “staging a drama of democracy”. He said Mr Hashmi’s arrest was a challenge for all the democracy-loving forces. He appealed to all international and democratic forces to take notice of the incident and take steps for the restoration of democracy and human rights in the country.

He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf was implicating politicians in false cases for speaking the truth. He accused the government of providing protection to “thieves” and corrupt people only because they were with the government. On the other hand, he said, politicians were being “disgraced” for trying to restore the image of the army and opposing Gen Musharraf’s policies.

Benazir Bhutto said Mr Hashmi’s arrest was “state fascism” and intended to silence the voice of the opposition.

She said the regime was making a miscalculation if it thought that such arrests and intimidation would deter the democratic forces from pursuing their struggle.

She demanded that the regime immediately release the ARD president and withdraw the cases against him.

FAHIM: ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, in a statement, denounced the arrest of Mr Hashmi and termed it “state terrorism.”

He said one of the most serious damages the Musharraf regime had caused to the country was of sowing the seeds of confrontation between the people and the military.

“Such a confrontation could lead to a division in the army itself, as saner elements were opposed to be used as pawns in the game of power being played by their generals,” he added.

The arrest of Mr Hashmi was a panic response to this dangerous situation of deepening confrontation between the civilians and the “ambitious generals” seeking political power at all costs, he said. He said the days of the government were numbered.

The ARD chairman said the government should have probed the letter and pondered over its contents rather than punishing the persons to whom the letter was sent. He said that a treason case should have been filed under Article 6 against those who subverted the Constitution and not against the ARD president.