29 August 2004	Sunday	12 Rajab 1425

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ISLAMABAD Aug 28: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Saturday announced it will continue its struggle for the democracy "in its true form" both inside and outside parliament.

Speaking at a news conference before the start of a special National Assembly session to give the new prime minister a vote of confidence, ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said "our boycott of the vote of confidence process was consistent with our boycotting the election of Mr Shaukat Aziz."

Earlier, the parliamentary group of the ARD and allied parties held a meeting at the Parliament House with Mr Fahim in the chair to formally decide about the boycott.

In reply to a question, he said it was ridiculous on part of the speaker not to issue production order of PML(N) president and opposition candidate Makhdoom Javed Hashmi after accepting his nomination papers as valid and correct.

He said the opposition was definitely angry with speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain's attitude and wanted to move against him but it appears the government itself planning an action against him.

"We have boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the prime minister today and we are also boycotting the dinner hosted in his honour in the evening."

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, acting parliamentary leader of the PML(N), criticized what he called the undemocratic induction of Shaukat Aziz as the country's prime minister.

He asserted that Mr Aziz was not a genuinely-elected prime minister because he had attained this position due to the decision of an individual.

"We have boycotted the process for we are not ready to give credibility to the process to become norm of democracy."

He criticized the role of Sindh chief minister who, he claimed, used all official resources to get Mr Aziz elected in the by-election from Tharparkar.

Khwaja Saad Rafiq of the PML(N) claimed that the Election Commissioner of Punjab, under the directives of the Chief Election Commissioner and Punjab Chief Minister, had refused to receive nomination papers of his party candidate for Senate seat which had been vacated by the prime minister.

He said Bargees Tahir advocate and a former federal minister went to the provincial election commissioner's office at 2.30pm, half-an-hour before the closing time, for the receipt of the nomination papers.

He claimed he was kept waiting till the lapse of time during which the Election Commissioner rang up the CEC and Punjab CM and later on told the candidate that he was not accepting his papers for they were time-barred.

Raja Parvez Ashraf of the PPP Parliamentarians said that complainants of four PPP workers killed during a by-election campaign were facing life threats from murderers in Attock and police were reluctant even to register the FIR.

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