September 23, 2007	Sunday	Ramazan 10, 1428

LAHORE, Sept 22: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is thinking in terms of not seeking resignations from its legislators but stage a protest against the proceedings of the presidential election by boycotting the parliament’s joint session in Islamabad and the four provincial assemblies where vote for the new president will be obtained on Oct 6.

The support for en bloc resignations from assemblies has not found much favour from within the organisation although there is a feeble voice in support of joining hands with the All Parties Democratic Movement in quitting the legislatures.

Key PPP office-bearers and a majority of the party legislators have sounded chairperson Benazir Bhutto their opinion who has convened a joint meeting of the PPP’s central executive committee and the federal council in London on Oct 3 to take a ‘formal’ decision on the option.

Punjab PPP President Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi also chose not to make a commitment on the ‘sensitive’ issue and confined his remarks at a news conference here on Saturday that the party had several options to exercise. He said that the party’s position on the presidential elections was clear that it rejected Gen Pervez Musharraf in seeking a fresh term as the head of the state while failing to doff his uniform.

“This (the election) is unconstitutional and we do not accept Gen Musharraf making an electoral bid in uniform”, he said in reply to a question.

Briefing media persons after a meeting of the Punjab PPP executive committee, Mr Qureshi said all the issues relating to the presidential election, the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the party’s reaction, would be decided at the highest level in London. But he said categorically that the party had struck no secret deal with the regime.

“We are not hypocrites like others to make underhand deals to harm the national cause like the 17th Amendment to the constitution”, he said and added that the PPP would never compromise on national interest. But, he said, the PPP also believed in talks as part of democratic process and had held negotiations with the Musharraf government. He said that the negotiations had hit snags and there was now a deadlock. “But this does not mean that talks have failed; they may resume in a few days”, he added.

Flanked by Punjab secretary-general Chaudhry Ghualm Abbas and information secretary Farzana Raja, the provincial president did not agree to a suggestion that the government might treat Benazir Bhuuto on her arrival in Karachi on Oct 18 like it did in the case of Nawaz Sharif. The PML-N leader, he said, had gone abroad under an agreement whose term was yet to be completed; Ms Bhutto left for abroad after obtaining a permission from the Lahore High Court. He hoped that the government would not create conditions which might disrupt peace in the country. “We do not guarantee a peaceful political atmosphere if our leader is stopped in any way from returning home”, he warned authorities.

He said the chairperson would be given an ‘unprecedented’ reception at the Karachi airport where people from all over the country would converge. He said that the party organisations all over the country were busy these days preparing for Ms Bhutto’s reception. As for Punjab, he said that the party office-bearers, candidates for ticket and workers would reach Rahim Yar Khan on the evening of Oct 16. The next morning they would enter Sindh in a caravan of buses and other vehicles for the welcome. He said that divisional organizers had been instructed to submit their reports about the preparation for the reception. The Punjab executive committee would consider the reports in its meeting on Oct 1, he added.