LAHORE, June 12: The PPP-Parliamentarians and the PML-N, two major parties of the 16-party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, have expressed divergent views about the government’s offer for talks on modalities to hold free and fair general elections and the coalition’s strategy about the presidential polls.

Another opposition alliance, MMA, is of the view that the Senate chairman should take over as acting president and then initiate a dialogue with the opposition parties. However, an alliance leader said talks with the present set-up would be meaningless.

PPP-Parliamentarians President Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who is also chairman of the ARD, told Dawn that the offer for a dialogue should be made by President Pervez Musharraf who enjoyed all powers.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Shujaat Husain or Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, he said, were powerless people and their invitation carried no importance.

PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said the invitation for talks was aimed at seeking legitimacy for the existing system, and at the same time creating misunderstandings between the opposition parties.

He said the invitation was uncalled for as the ARD, the MMA, the PONAM, the ANP and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf had repeatedly said the elections should be held under the supervision of an interim government and Gen Musharraf should not be there in office at the time of polls.

Mr Fahim said the PPP would not vote for Gen Musharraf in case he sought re-election from the current assemblies. And, he said, since his party regarded election from the present legislatures illegal, it would not put up its candidate against Gen Musharraf.

When it was pointed out that press reports suggested the PPP would abstain from the voting process at the time of the presidential polls, which amounted to facilitating the general to get another term, Mr Fahim said all these are conjectures.

“We’ll not support the general, and we haven’t taken a decision to abstain. Since the ruling coalition has majority in the parliament, Gen Musharraf is in a position to get him re-elected even if all opposition legislators tender resignations.”

On being reminded that the ARD had decided to quit the assemblies if Gen Musharraf tried to get mandate for another term, Mr Fahim claimed the alliance had never taken any such decision.

PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq came up with totally a different point of view on the subject.

He said Ms Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and many other leaders had said on different occasions that all opposition lawmakers would quit their seats to thwart Gen Musharraf’s bid to get re-elected. He said the decision had been taken by the ARD at several meetings. “Nobody can say that such a decision was not taken. This point of view was reiterated on different occasions, individually as well as collectively.”

The PML-N leader recalled that a conference called by the MMA, which was participated in by several parties, had said the opposition parties would go for a civil disobedience movement if Gen Musharraf sought re-election.

He said the presidential election would lose credibility if the opposition parties did not take part in the process.

About the information minister’s advice that the opposition parties should put up their candidate against Gen Musharraf, Raja Zafarul Haq said: “They want us to participate in the charade (but we’ll not oblige them).”

MMA’s Deputy Secretary-General Liaquat Baloch said free and fair polls were not possible as long as Gen Musharraf was calling the shots. The general, he said, should quit and the Senate chairman take over as acting president and start talks with the opposition parties to set up an interim government and an independent election commission.

He said all opposition parties should take a collective decision to quit the assemblies to foil Gen Musharraf’s plan to get a second term from the present assemblies. So far, he said, no such decision had been taken.

About the advice that opposition parties should put up their candidate against Gen Musharraf, Baloch said it was aimed at deflecting attention.

In his opinion, Gen Musharraf was not qualified to contest the presidential election for the second time as he had failed to take off his uniform on Dec 31, 2004, as agreed in talks with the MMA. He said had the general honoured his commitment with the religious reference, he would have been eligible to go for re-election.

ANP Secretary-General Ehsan Wyne said his party would not hold any kind of talks with the government and take any decision in consultation with other opposition parties.

The present rulers, he said, were not trustworthy as they had let down all progressive forces and promoted the mullahs.

He said Gen Musharraf had lost confidence of the nation and thus should set up an interim government to hold polls.

Wyne said the ANP was not in favour of putting up any candidate against Gen Musharraf in the presidential election as the past experience showed that only the army-backed contestant would win the race even if his rival enjoyed the confidence of the entire nation.

He said all opposition parties had ‘informally’ decided to quit their assembly seats in case Gen Musharraf sought re-election in uniform from the present assemblies.

However, there was no collective decision on opposition’s strategy if Gen Musharraf contested the election without uniform.