QUETTA, Aug 22: The supreme council of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal announced on Wednesday that the alliance would work out a plan in consultation with parties in the All Parties Democratic Movement to block the re-election of Gen Pervez Musharraf as president by challenging it in the streets, parliament and the courts.

The meeting decided to contest the coming elections and formed a parliamentary board comprising heads of the parties in the alliance, and directed MMA’s district boards to recommend names of candidates to provincial boards for award of tickets.

The alliance leadership condemned what it called interference of the United States in the political affairs of the country, and said that Washington’s expanding role was the main cause of turmoil in the region.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman urged the PML leadership not to support Gen Musharraf’s re-election because his wrong policies had put the country’s sovereignty in jeopardy.

He said the supreme council discussed the political situation with particular reference to the upheaval in tribal areas and Balochistan and presidential election and the alliance’s strategy for the polls.

The MMA leaders reiterated their stance that the re-election of Gen Musharraf from the present assemblies would be an unconstitutional and undemocratic step and the alliance would use all means to stop the general from using the assemblies to fulfil his ambitions, Maulana Fazl said.

‘‘Uniform negates democracy, but in the 2002 polls we ignored that principle in the larger interest of restoring civilian rule. But now we would not compromise on the issue of revival of full democracy,’’ he added.

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