APDM likely to move court, EC, says Nisar: Re-election campaign
By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) is considering moving higher courts and the Election Commission to restrain Gen Pervez Musharraf from running his election campaign for a second term as president, said Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Speaking at a news conference here on Saturday, he criticised Gen Musharraf for using national resources and state machinery for his campaign.
Chaudhry Nisar also lashed out at the United States for what he called blatantly interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs and warned that this policy could affect the future relationship between the two countries.
PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal, vice-president Syed Zafar Ali Shah and former provincial minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar were present on the occasion.
Chaudhry Nisar said that being a government servant Gen Musharraf could not run for the office of the president. He said Gen Musharraf had categorically announced in Sargodha that he would be elected as the country’s president for another five-year term between Sept 15 and Oct 15. He asked Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq to take notice of Gen Musharraf’s statement and stop him from running his so-called election campaign.
The PML-N leader said it was a test case for the Election Commission to prove its independence and fairness. He reminded the CEC of his earlier statement in which he had said that it was not appropriate for Gen Musharraf to speak at public meetings of the ruling party. He said the time had now come for the CEC to take practical steps on the issue.
He said soon the APDM leaders would finalise a strategy to challenge Gen Musharraf’s act of running the election campaign before courts or the Election Commission.
Chaudhry Nisar alleged that Gen Musharraf was visiting different cities and using official aircraft and other transport and government offices and buildings in his election campaign.
The PML-N leader criticised the US for playing broker between Gen Musharraf and PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. The US had been influencing Pakistan’s policies for the past 60 years, but during the last 48 hours or so its role had become blatant which was not acceptable to the people of Pakistan, he said, referring to the recent visit by the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher.
“The future of the US-Pakistan relationship is at risk if the US continues to play the same role,” he said. He warned that the direction of the ongoing movement of democratic forces, nationalist parties, civil society, lawyers and the people of Pakistan against the military dictatorship could turn towards the US if it did not withdraw its support to the military ruler.
In reply to a question, the PML-N leader said the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy had become irrelevant after the formation of the APDM. He said almost all the parties which were part of the ARD, nationalist parties from Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP and religious parties had joined the APDM.
When asked if the PML-N would welcome Ms Bhutto to the APDM, he said when she would be in a position to decide whether she wanted to go with the government or with the opposition, only then they would be able to reply the question.
About the controversial exile deal between the government and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N leader said the matter was before the Supreme Court which had fixed August 23 for hearing. “Let the government present deal documents before the court only then we will come up with our views,” he said, adding that he knew only about one document signed by the then president Rafiq Tarar under which Mr Sharif was pardoned in the plane hijacking case and allowed to go abroad for treatment.
