November 09, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 27, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) information secretary Ahsan Iqbal has called for withdrawal of the emergency rule and said his party would not accept “PCO judiciary”.

“There is a complete consensus among opposition parties, lawyers and civil society that the PCO (Provisional Constitution Order) judiciary will not be accepted,” he said in a statement here on Thursday.

Mr Iqbal said Gen Musharraf’s decision to impose emergency had tarnished the image of Pakistan internationally, as the country was now being compared with military-ruled Burma. He said the core crisis facing the nation was how to defend Gen Musharraf’s attack on the very foundation of rule of law in the country under the garb of emergency.

Before announcement of general elections, he said, the nation wanted complete withdrawal of the November 3 extra-constitutional step and restoration of non-PCO judiciary. Unfortunately, he said, while other nations were focusing on how to make themselves competitive in the new global economy through transforming into knowledge-society and smart economy, the debate in Pakistan was how to save independence of the judiciary and freedom of the media.

Mr Iqbal said Gen Musharraf’s conditional declaration of doffing his military uniform and holding election subject to his taking oath as president had shown that he had plunged the nation into a worst crisis only for fulfilling his personal ambition.

“This declaration too is a result of US president’s call as till Wednesday he was refusing to make any commitment,” he said.