December 07, 2006	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 15, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: The Pakistan People’s Party has rejected remarks of General Pervez Musharraf that general elections will be held without the participation of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, the PPP spokesman said that such an election would be a farce.

He said that it would deny the people of Pakistan their democratic right to choose their representatives and perpetuate dictatorship through puppets who had been chosen to rig the elections.

He said that the military dictatorship in Pakistan was threatening the unity and integrity of the country from tribal areas to Balochistan and leading to the collapse of the national economy.

He said that engineered elections without the participation of former prime ministers would only compound the political crisis that was threatening the federation.

The spokesman said that to build a modern democratic Pakistan, it was essential to hold fair and free elections and provide a level-playing field for all political parties and leaders.

He said that the dictatorship wanted to re-engineer the social and political landscape of the country, but the regime would not be allowed to do so.

He said that Gen Ziaul Haq had also tried to oust the PPP from politics, but failed despite a reign of terror let loose against the people through torture, lashes and executions. The spokesman said that the PPP would not allow dictators to re-write terms of elections so as to keep the popular leadership out of the electoral contest.