September 08, 2007	Saturday	Sha'aban 25, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Sept 7: Main leaders of the parties in the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) will be present at the Islamabad airport on Monday to welcome former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif on Monday.

This was announced by Pakistan Muslim League (N) chairman Raja Zafrul Haq while briefing reporters after a meeting of the APDM at his residence here on Friday.

Mr Haq said the meeting had decided that all leaders of the APDM would go to the airport together to receive the Sharifs. He said the government would accelerate the process of its downfall if it tried to arrest Nawaz Sharif or Shahbaz Sharif.

He warned that there would be a strong reaction from the people.

He said the APDM had decided to support the movement of lawyers against Gen Musharraf’s plan to get himself re-elected in uniform from the present assemblies.

The PML-N leader said the APDM would also become a petitioner with Qazi Hussain Ahmed who had already challenged the decision of Gen Musharraf to stay in uniform despite attaining the age of superannuation in 2003.

He alleged that over 1,000 party workers had been arrested in Punjab which showed that the government was in a state of panic due to the return of the Sharifs to Pakistan. He said the rulers were afraid of the popularity of Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Haq said there were reports that the government was considering to reduce the tenure of the chief justice.

He said such a step would be considered an assault on the judiciary and would be strongly opposed.

Those who attended the APDM meeting included Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Imran Khan and Mehmood Khan Achakzai.