PESHAWAR Feb 27: Tehrik-i-Istiqlal (TI) President Rehmat Khan Wardag on Monday appealed to the government to penalise political parties that organised violent street protests and committed acts of vandalism during rallies and processions held earlier this month.

The government should promulgate an ordinance and prevent all such political parties from taking part in the 2007 elections, the TI leader told reporters at the Peshawar Press Club.

“Opposition groups have a right to organise peaceful protests against blasphemous caricatures but no political outfit should be allowed to loot and plunder on the pretext of a protest. That is condemnable,” he said.

Without naming the errant political groups, he said some parties were politicising the cartoon issue and condemned their actions.

Mr Wardag urged President Musharraf to dissolve the National Assembly and provincial assemblies and form an interim government to run the country’s affairs in a smooth manner.

The present assembles are ineffective and must be dissolved, the TI leader said.

In the best interest of the country, Mr Wardag said, President Musharraf should continue to hold the dual office of president and chief of army staff till 2017.

Mr Wardaq said the media and transport sector should be given the status of an industry and called for the retirement age to be fixed at 55 years to minimise unemployment in the country.

He criticised sugar mill owners for sparking a sugar crisis in the country by not producing enough sugarcane. In order to settle the crisis, the government should fix the sugarcane rate at Rs80 per 40 kilograms.

The TI leader said the local government system was a good system but corrupt nazims in some districts were exploiting and degrading it. He also said the country should have at least one dam by 2012.