29 February 2004	Sunday	08 Muharram 1425

PESHAWAR, Feb 28: The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party has rejected the 1973 Constitution and demanded a new one to replace it. The party also called for withdrawal of cases against leaders who were booked for holding a seminar on the premises of parliament lodges.

Speaking at a news conference here at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, PkMAP provincial chief Mukhtiar Khan Yousafzai expressed concern over the registration of cases against the leaders of Pakistan Oppressed Nation Movement (PONM) and Awami National Party (ANP) for holding a seminar in the parliament lodges.

He said that it amounted to a ban on expression of opinion and demanded that all the representatives of the oppressed nationalities be given freedom to speak on the internal and external issues concerning national interest.

Flanked by former senator Bashir Khan Matta, Mr Yousafzai said it was the fundamental right of the all the people to speak their mind on national issues.

He also criticised the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA)'s leaders for striking a deal with President Musharraf on the Legal framework Order (LFO) and said that his party will never accept the LFO as part of the Constitution.

According to him, the MMA was facilitated by the army to win the elections, which had worsened the situation a great deal.

He demanded that cases against ANP chief Asfandiar Wali Khan and chief of the PkMAP Mehmood Khan Achakzai be withdrawn immediately or else they would launch a countrywide protest movement against the government.