February 14, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 15, 1427

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HYDERABAD, Feb 13: The Pakistan Muslim League-N has demanded appointment of a national government to hold general elections within 90 days and hand over powers to elected representatives of people.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here, Sindh PML-N information secretary Zahid Rafique Butt, who recently returned from London after meeting party chief Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and Sindh party president Syed Ghaus Ali Shah, said his party did not acknowledge ‘retired’ Gen Pervez Musharraf as head of the state nor did it accept what he called the fake referendum through which he was appointed president.

Sindh PML-N vice-president Pir Asadullah Jan Sarhandi, joint secretary Khalid Arain, Sahibzada Shabbir Ansari, Ashiq Khokhar and other local party leaders were present.

Mr Butt, who is also the provincial senior vice-president of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, said the 1973 constitution had been distorted, adding that amendments made to the constitution, including the 17th amendment, would be repealed whenever the PML-N or the People’s Party Parliamentarians came into power.

He said his party would not accept results of the general election if held under the present government. He demanded that the polls should be held under supervision of the UN.

He also rejected the law of necessity which had given legitimacy to Gen Musharraf.

The PML-N leader said Mr Sharif would return to Pakistan soon not to become the prime minister but to save the country. He disclosed that the party’s central committee was scheduled to meet in London in May where a decision would be taken about a date for return of Mr Sharif.

He called for holding a trial of people who had violated the constitution by ousting a popular and democratically-elected government.

Mr Butt said Mr Sharif and Benazir Bhutto were the most popular leaders of the country and no one could stop them from returning to their homeland. He condemned issuance of red notices to Ms Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari by Interpol.

He said Mr Sharif had exposed the claim of the rulers that he had left Pakistan under some agreement.

He said Mr Sharif in his speech in London had sent a clear message to the rulers that there would be no compromise with army generals.

Mr Butt said that due to wrong policies of the government, especially taking a ‘u-turn’ in foreign policy, Pakistan had been isolated.

Referring to personal search of members of the prime minister’s team, which recently visited the US, at the airport, he said they should have returned back straight away. He, however, said that since Pakistan had become an American colony, its rulers were helpless. In this regard, he also quoted the US bombardment in a village Bajaur Agency.

He condemned the ongoing military operation in Balochistan and inordinate increase in the price of sugar. He said the government was providing protection to capitalists.

He also flayed registration of an FIR against leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal in Hyderabad for staging a protest against the publication of blasphemous caricatures of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

About reorganization of his party at grass-roots level, he said Ghaus Ali Shah had appointed Pir Kaleemullah Sarhandi the president and Abdul Aziz the general secretary of the newly-created Tando Mohammad Khan district. He said Fida Hussain Arain and Gul Mohammad Leghari had been respectively appointed the president and the general secretary of the Tando Allahyar district.