June 06, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 5: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) have accused the government of launching a massive crackdown against their workers.

PML-N’s acting parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and PPP secretary general Raja Pervez Ashraf in separate news conferences on Tuesday alleged that hundreds of their party workers and activists had been arrested during the last 48 hours.

The PML-N leader alleged that Gen Pervez Musharraf was using armed forces for his political agenda. He said the regime had put curbs on media and launched a crackdown against the political workers soon after a meeting of the corps commanders, thus giving an impression that the decisions had been taken by the top military officials.

He said that the Army should itself take notice of the situation and realise that it was not a personal army of an individual, adding that they would respect only that army which would be functioning in accordance with the constitution.

Mr Nisar said that the regime after targeting politicians, had now declared a war against the judiciary and the media.

The PML-N leader expressed the hope that the army would not stand against the people of Pakistan, adding that only few generals were responsible for bringing the army into disrepute.

He said that the date of the proposed multi-party conference in London had been finalised and it would be announced in next few days.

He said the PML-N was in contact with all opposition parties and the representatives of the civil society on the proposed conference which would be held next month.

He said the ongoing movement against the regime was not a political battle, but a war for the country’s survival.

Addressing the press conference, Ahsan Iqbal claimed that so far about 550 workers and activists of the PML-N had been arrested from various parts of the country.

PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the curbs on media and arrests of political workers were desperate acts of the regime.

Mr Ashraf warned the government and police officers against becoming a tool in the hands of the military regime, adding that all those officers who would try to prove loyal to the regime would be taken to task in future.

He said the party had started compiling the data of such officers.