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13 February 2004
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Friday
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21 Zilhaj 1424
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Protest camps to represent entire ARD, say leaders
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 12: The camps set up for the week-long protest rallies, aimed at galvanising support for the removal of Gen Pervez Musharraf, would represent the entire ARD and not any individual component of the alliance.
This was stated by leaders of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy at a joint briefing at the residence of Zain Ansari, provincial leader of the ARD. Earlier this week, Nisar Khuhro, president of the Sindh PPP, had stated that as a component of the ARD, his party had decided to organize protest rallies from Feb 13 to 20 to mobilize support for removing General Pervez Musharraf.
In today's meeting, the ARD leaders said that time had come to remove those who, they alleged, had usurped power with the help of barrel of the gun and their continued rule had endangered national security.
They also alleged that policies adopted by the regime endangered Pakistan's nuclear programme for which poor people of this country had made great sacrifices.
The meeting was especially critical of Gen Musharraf whom it accused of a sell out on Kashmir issue, which was used to justify maintenance of such a huge military.
The meeting was also critical of the government's handling of the nuclear issue due to which, the participants believed, Pakistan had dangerously been exposed to external pressures and interventions.
The ARD was of the view that after the fall of Dhaka the handling of nuclear scientists' issue was the gravest tragedy which had shocked the people of Pakistan.
According to the ARD's protest programme, protest camps will be set up every day in each district headquarters where activists and supporters, including MNAs, MPAs, ticket-holders, workers and those who have been pushed to the wall by the regime would assemble between 11am and 4pm to apprise people of the government's 'misdeeds'.
The ARD demanded that Ms Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif be allowed to return home and lead the nation in this critical hour. It also demanded release of Asif Zardari and Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.
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