August 18, 2007	Saturday	Sha’aban 4, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 17: While President Pervez Musharraf has started his campaign for another term in office by holding meetings with the ruling party legislators, major opposition parties have still not decided to put up any candidate against him as in their opinion such a step will amount to according legitimacy to what they call an unconstitutional contest.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi says in case there is no challenger in the field, the general could be declared elected unopposed.

Parties in the All Parties Democratic Movement will take up the matter at their meeting in Quetta on Aug 22.

Pakistan People’s Party Senior Vice-Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani says the party’s Central Executive Committee and the Federal Council would meet in London on Aug 28 to discuss the matter and decide the party’s future policy.

He said the party had been consistently saying that a president in uniform was not acceptable to it.

PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq and MMA leader Liaquat Baloch told Dawn that the coalition would take a unanimous decision on the subject.

Raja said opposition parties and bar associations would first challenge the eligibility of Gen Musharraf to contest the election and once this question was decided by courts, then would they chart their future course of action.

“We’ll do our level best to block the presidential election,” said the PML-N chairman.

It may be pointed out that the ruling PML is aware that the legal battle could take an unpredictable turn and Chaudhry Shujaat Husain or Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz may file their nomination papers as covering candidates to Gen Musharraf.

Liaquat Baloch said if the MMA put up its presidential candidate against Gen Musharraf, it would amount to declaring the entire process constitutionally valid.

He reiterated that an assembly elected for five years could not elect a president for 10 years.

The presidential election is to be held between Sept 15 and October 15.

Dr Sher Afgan said it was for the Chief Election Commissioner to announce the schedule for the presidential election as well as supervise the subsequent process.