17 April 2005	Sunday	07 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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ISLAMABAD, April 16: The People’s Party Parliamentarians has decided to call a strike to protest against ‘police brutality’ and arrests of a large number of PPP parliamentarians and workers on the arrival of former senator Asif Ali Zardari in Lahore on Saturday.

PPP spokesman Nazir Dhoki said at a news conference on Saturday that the party had decided to give the strike call and the date would be announced by its Central Executive Committee in a meeting after the release of senior leaders and parliamentarians.

He held President Gen Pervez Musharraf responsible for the situation and said Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was only a puppet in the hands of the military rulers.

He said Gen Musharraf had allowed the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal to hold ‘million marches’ so that he could give the West the impression that he was

facing religious extremists.

On the other hand, he said,

Gen Musharraf was not ready

to allow the moderate PPP even to receive its leader at the airport.

Senators Enver Baig and Rukhsana Zuberi said they did not know the whereabouts of Chairman of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Senator Baig said the Punjab chief minister had been telling the media that no one had been arrested while Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that all the arrested people would be released soon.

He criticized the police for misbehaving with PPP leaders, including women.

Ridiculing the government’s claim that the PPP had not sought permission for holding the rally under the rules, he asked whether Gen Musharraf was ruling the country as per the book.

Replying to a question, Mr Baig said the PPP did not want confrontation with the government. He said the party wanted to provide a passage to the army so that it could return to the barracks and perform its duty according to the constitution.

In reply to another question, he said the PPP had never contacted any military man or the rulers for reconciliation and the regime itself had approached the party.