18 February 2004	Wednesday	26 Zilhaj 1424

PESHAWAR, Feb 17: The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), on the fifth day of its campaign on Tuesday, asked the government to hold fresh elections which, it said, was the only way left to steer the country out of the present crisis.

The women's wings of the ARD components, Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League-N, organized the rally at the Chowk Yadgar. Mehrunnisa Afridi, Shazia Tehmas of the PPP and MPA Imtiaz Sultan Bukhari of the PML underlined the immediate need for removing the present government.

The ARD leaders alleged that Gen Musharraf had mortgaged the country to the aggressive powers, who had robbed the Afghan and Iraqi people of their freedom.

They warned that Pakistan's nuclear programme was under threat from those powers which were responsible for the proliferation of the nuclear know-how and provision of the atomic material to some of the rouge states. They vowed that the ARD would not allow the rulers to roll back the nuclear programme.

They said the rulers had not only tempered with the democratic system to install their own men on the elected forums, but they were going to abandon the vital national interests to seek protection of their personal interests.

The ARD women leaders the incumbent rulers were working like the American pawns in the area, which was contrary to the Pakistan's interests.

The PPP (women wing) president Mehrunnisa Afridi demanded of the government to withdraw all the cases registered against PML-N acting chief, Javed Hashmi and Asif Ali Zardari. This was the worst violation of basic human rights to keep Mr Zardariin prison as under trial prisoner for a long time, she added.