PESHAWAR, Jan 29: The Frontier chapter of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on Thursday urged the government to immediately release nuclear scientists besides freeing its acting party chief Makhdoom Javed Hashmi and Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari.

This was said by PML-N's NWFP chief Pir Sabir Shah and the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy general secretary Iqbal Zafar Jhagra. They were talking with journalists at a hunger strike camp held here to protest against the arrests of nuclear scientists.

Other party leaders, including Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat, party's parliamentary leader in the Frontier Assembly, also attended the camp. Stressing the need for a genuine political and democratic government to safeguard the country's interest, Pir Sabir Shah urged the people to realize that the while government was trying to strike what he termed a bargain over the Kashmir issue, it was unable to achieve the desired results.

The PML leader said that Pakistan had been converted into the 53rd state of the United States. He voiced for a united struggle to avert the rulers of their nefarious designs.

Iqbal Zafar Jhagra accused the government of trying to rollback the country's nuclear programme in the wake of foreign pressure, adding the nation would not allow the government to carry out what he termed the Western agenda. He urged the judiciary to take suo motu action in connection with the debriefing of scientists.-PPI