September 18, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 05, 1428

LAHORE, Sept 17: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Senator Dr Babar Awan said on Monday the PPP would block the election of a government employee as president.Speaking at a Meet-the-Press programme at the Lahore Press Club, Mr Awan said the party believed that no government employee could hold a public office. The option of resignation from the assemblies was open and the party would decide about it after the submission of nomination papers of Gen Pervez Musharraf for the presidential election. He claimed the presidential election would not be held if the PPP quit the assemblies.

He said the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) could not be trusted in fulfilling its claim of tendering resignation from the assemblies as its credibility had been questionable after their failure to quit assemblies after the adoption of Women’s Protection Bill and the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

He said the MMA’s stance over resignation would be clear when Maulana Fazlur Rehman returned from abroad. He said the Eighth Amendment had been restored through a pact between the MMA and Gen Musharraf.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan had tried to provide a lifeline to Gen Musharraf by allowing holding of dual office for participation in the presidential poll. He said Gen Musharraf had failed on all fronts and that he did not expect him to be part of any future government setup.

He said the ECP had made itself controversial by trying to give a concession to Gen Musharraf by amending the rules for presidential election. He said the ECP was not authorised to amend rules under the law as those could be amended only by parliament. The ECP had also confirmed its partisanship with the ruling coalition by deleting the names of 22 million eligible voters from electoral rolls.

He said PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto could not be arrested on her return home because she had not been convicted in any case and nor was a proclaimed offender. He said Ms Bhutto could also become a prime minister for the third term because the Political Parties Order could be changed by a simple majority in the assembly. The PPP would amend the law after emerging a majority party in the next general elections, he said.

He said the PPP was not a hurdle in the unity of the opposition. He said his party was not a participant in talks on the Legal Framework Order with the government and was not a party to the Political Parties Order.

He said the PPP had started a dialogue with the government because it did not want Pakistan to enter a blind alley but those considering politics a business were describing it a deal. He said the PPP had once again opted for struggle after the failure of dialogue with the government.