05 February 2004	Thursday	13 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy is unlikely to support the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's call for observing a strike on Friday in support of nuclear scientists , said the alliance's deputy information secretary, Munir Ahmed Khan.

Mr Khan said heads of the ARD's component parties were meeting in Lahore on Thursday morning to discuss the ongoing controversy on the issue, adding they were expected to chalk out the alliance's strategy in this regard.

Ruling out the possibility of the ARD supporting the MMA's strike, Mr Khan said the ARD considered the religious alliance itself to be responsible for the present situation. "First they made Gen Pervez Musharraf a powerful president by accepting the Legal Framework Order and now they are crying foul," Mr Khan said, adding the MMA leaders could not be trusted any more.

He said there was a possibility that the ARD would also give a call for strike to be observed on Friday in this regard. However, he said, even if the ARD gave a strike call for Friday, it would not join any protest rally of the MMA.

Another senior PPP parliamentarian termed MMA's stand contradictory, saying the ARD could not support MMA's stand on the scientists' issue.

He said the PPP had a very clear stand on the issue and it had been demanding that it should be presented before the parliament.

Meanwhile, sources said that there were differences between the PPP and the PML-N on the issue of supporting the MMA's strike call. They said some PML-N leaders wanted to support the MMA, but the PPP was totally opposed to the idea.

They said MMA's acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmed had contacted PML-N's chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and sought his party's support for the Friday's protest rallies.