October 27, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 14, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: The People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has invited the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to join hands with the progressive forces to bring about a democratic order and eliminate terrorism in the country.

In a statement issued here on Friday, PPP Secretary-General Raja Pervez Ashraf said his party would welcome any component of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) in order to make way for a smooth transition to a democratic order through free and fair elections and a level-playing field.

He took strong exception to the negative remarks of the acting PML-N President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi about the PPP, saying it would not serve the cause of democracy.

Mr Hashmi while addressing the Karachi Bar Association recently, accused the PPP of compromising the Charter of Democracy (CoD), which the PPP signed with the PML-N in London in March, and also criticised Ms Bhutto’s reconciliation/negotiations with the government.

The same day, he met party chairperson Benazir Bhutto to offer his party’s condolences over the deaths of the PPP workers in October 19 blasts in the city.

Mr Ashraf termed Mr Hashmi’s statement unfortunate and reflection of PML-N’s lack of willingness to contribute to the smooth transition to democracy. He questioned how could the PML-N leader complain about PPP’s deal with the army as his own party had done so seven years ago when the Sharif family secured themselves a safe exit from the country to escape the ordeals of a prison sentence.

The PPP leader said his party was committed to democratic and civilian rule in Pakistan and that Ms Bhutto had withstood persecution in the last 11 years for these principles.

It goes to the PPP’s credit that through the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), it successfully secured a separation of the post of the army chief and the president, an end to unjust political victimisation through the courts and the parliamentary ethics committees, an end to horse-trading, and a fair vote count through independent returning officers, he added.

Mr Ashraf pointed out that being the biggest political party of the country, the PPP considered it its responsibility to work for a smooth transition to democracy rather than politics of confrontation that would have resulted in bloodbath.

He advised the PML-N leadership not to sow seeds of misunderstanding in people’s minds by implying that the PPP deviated from the CoD. On the contrary, he said, the PPP through its sacrifices had managed to push through key points in the charter.

“The NRO too is an effort in the same direction, as it is a major step towards restoring democracy in the country,” he noted.