ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) is ready to accept the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) into the opposition fold if it parts ways with the regime, says ARD secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.
Talking to Dawn after a meeting with Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday, Mr Jhagra said the ARD would definitely contact the MQM leadership if it declared in categorical terms that it would not hold any talks with the ‘undemocratic and illegal Musharraf regime’.
Mr Jhagra, who is also secretary-general of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, said the MQM had threatened to quit the government several times also in the past, but it withdrew the warnings after getting benefits.
He said the ARD was struggling for ‘genuine democracy’ and it would welcome any party in its struggle against the ‘unconstitutional regime’.
Mr Jhagra said the PTI chief had expressed support for the ARD’s decision to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and added that the opposition parties might meet on Aug 6 to finalise their plan of action.
People’s Party Parliamentarians spokesman Farhatullah Khan Babar said the MQM had staged such ‘dramas’ before and its new move would again prove to be a hollow threat. He said the MQM had said it would continue to support Gen Musharraf.
