September 24, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 30, 1427

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LAHORE, Sept 23: MMA candidate Waqar Nadeem Warraich on Saturday withdrew his candidature from PP-157 (Lahore) seats for the byelections to be held on Sept 30.

Two candidates are now in the race — ARD’s Rana Tajammul and ruling PML’s Navid Ashiq Dayal.

Meanwhile, the ARD and the MMA held a public meeting in the constituency which was addressed by Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hafiz Salman Butt and others.

Speaking on the occasion, ARD leaders condemned the Punjab government which, they said, had failed to provide any relief to the people.

They said the lives and honour of people belonging to all segments of society were not safe in Punjab as teachers, doctors and journalists were being humiliated. The Punjab government did not have any public-welfare programmes and those who oppressed the people for four years had been misusing funds for having their candidate elected.

The rulers, they said, were befooling the people by making monstrous claims of progress and development only to get votes for their candidate.

PML-N’s Khwaja Saad Rafiq said Rana Tajammal Husain was also being supported by the PPP, and the official machinery and the nominee could not face the democratic forces.

MNA Malik Pervaiz said the chief minister was looking towards Islamabad instead of Lahore. The people would reduce him only to Gujrat in the next general elections, he said.

According to Ms Samina Ghurki, the ARD workers were considering the bypolls a sacred mission in which the rulers could not deprive the democratic forces of their rights.

Hopeful Rana Tajammal also said the rulers could not harm the democratic forces. If re-elected by the people, he said, he would come up to their expectations.

Mian Marghoob Ahmad, Haji Azizur Rehman Chann, Malik Afzal Khokhar and others also spoke on the occasion.

MMA: An MMA MNA alleges that the PPP is the biggest obstacle to a grand opposition alliance.

Maulana Abdul Malik said in a press statement here on Saturday the PPP should stop siding with the government and instead stand by the opposition parties.

He said the Hudood bill as proposed by the government was not acceptable to the alliance, and this stand was religious not political.

Referring to Imran Khan’s advice that the MMA should have approved the government-sponsored bill to ward off differences between the PPP and other opposition parties, the MMA leader said the cricketer-turned-politician should have asked the PPP not to support a legislation which was in violation of limits set by Allah Almighty.

He said by supporting the government’s move, the PPP had caused a setback to the efforts for an opposition alliance.

The MMA leader said it had been established now that the Hudood laws were being changed at the behest of the United States and on account of the powers the general had derived from his military uniform. In case the bid was not foiled, he warned, the rulers would change even the Blasphemy laws.