July 06, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 20, 1428

NEW YORK, July 5: No party has struck any deal with the government, including the PPP, and all political parties will oppose any attempt to postpone the elections, according to Makhdoom Amin Fahim, president of the Pakistan People’s Party (Parliamentarians).

Mr Fahim was addressing a party’s meeting in Brooklyn here on Wednesday before leaving for London to attend the multi-party conference.

Makhdoom Fahim, who is also the chairman of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), said that rumours about deals were being floated by the government.

“I was offered the prime ministership in 2002 but I declined,” he said. “But we are determined not to allow these baseless rumours to create disunity in the ranks of the opposition parties.”

Mr Fahim said that PPP and its partners “will not fall prey to government conspiracies”. Mr Fahim, who was ill, said there should be a consensus that the nation would never accept any army general again, adding that it was the duty of civil rights organisations to prevent the reoccurring of such events in which the sanctity of national institutions was trampled.

The PPP leader said that all parties should resolve to restore the 1973 constitution and establish institutions of democracy to establish the rule of law and real democracy in the country.

Praising the judiciary and lawyers for taking a valiant position against the military regime, he said that the movement, which had started after the ouster of the Chief Justice, would succeed in establishing the rule of law.

Makhdoom Fahim said PPP would accept the formation of government by any party provided it won a free, fair and transparent election.

Earlier, a number of local PPP leaders welcomed Mr Fahim.