LAHORE, June 24: Although parties in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) do not want to see Gen Pervez Musharraf at the helm at the time of elections, they will not boycott the polls even if their demand remains unmet, leaders of both the coalitions say.
The matter will be discussed at the multi-party conference to be held in London on July 7-8 and the participants are likely to float various proposals to thwart Gen Musharraf’s plan to get re-elected from the present assemblies or to retain his military uniform.
Leaders of six opposition parties are meeting in Islamabad on Monday to discuss steps to make the London conference more productive. PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, Jamaat-I-Islami Amir Qazi Husain Ahmed, JUI-F Amir Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PTI chairman Imran Khan, ANP president Asfandyar Wali and PMAP president Mahmoud Khan Achakzai will attend the meeting.
The PPP is not represented at the committee.
PPP-Parliamentarians’ president Makhdoom Amin Fahim told Dawn on Sunday the MPC participants would devise a plan to mount pressure on the rulers to hold fair and transparent elections. They would also call for updating the electoral rolls so that 20 million voters, who had not been registered till now, were not left out.
If these people were not allowed to vote, it would be regarded as electoral rigging, said Mr Fahim, who also heads the 16-party ARD.
When asked if Gen Musharraf could head the interim set-up being demanded by the PPP-P, he said: “It depends on his re-election”.
However, he made it clear that his party would not support the general in getting his mandate extended from the existing assemblies. He reiterated that his party had not taken any decision to quit the assemblies if Gen Musharraf tried to get re-elected for another term.
He also said that the PPP would not boycott the elections if Gen Musharraf remained in power.
MMA president Qazi Husain said the conference should consider measures to bring an end to military intervention in politics. Stressing the need for implementing the Charter of Democracy, signed by the ARD about a year ago, he said the alliance would like all parties to agree not to seek the army’s help against one another.
Qazi Husain said that the MMA would not sign the charter because the PPP was not adhering to its provisions.
He said it would be better if all parties decided to quit assemblies to foil Gen Musharraf’s bid to get re-elected. But, he regretted that the PPP did not agree with the idea.
He said that other participants of the conference should work out their own plan even if the PPP did not support it.
When asked if the MMA would take part in elections if Gen Musharraf opted to quit his army post by then, Qazi said he was personally opposed to the idea but, at the same time, he would not like to harm the unity of the alliance. “We will not boycott the elections,” he said, adding that Gen Musharraf would have to quit as a result of the judicial crisis or a movement to be launched by the opposition parties in cooperation with lawyers.
He said the PPP and the MMA could launch a joint movement against the government if the PPP failed to cut a deal with the rulers. However, he said, he could not predict the situation if the PPP and Gen Musharraf reached some kind of an understanding.
He said in order to ensure fair polls, a government of national consensus should be set up and Gen Musharraf should not be a part of it. Similarly, he said, electoral lists should be updated in line with the Nadra database.
PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said his party was holding talks with various parties to make the London meeting a success.
He said his party wanted restoration of the 1973 Constitution to its pre-coup shape, free and fair elections under an interim government and permission to the exiled leaders to return home and take part in the electoral process.
Raja Zafarul Haq said his party would reiterate at the MPC that in the presence of Gen Musharraf honest and open polls were not possible. He hinted at the possibility of a movement if elections were rigged and said that such a development would not be in the national interest.
