KARACHI, Nov 24: Leaders of the National Workers’ Party and three trade unions have urged political parties to boycott the forthcoming general elections, which they claimed were being held to legitimize the dictatorship of General Pervez Musharraf.

Stressing the need for a joint struggle, they urged all the major parties to join hands against the “dictatorial regime of Gen Musharraf.”

They said there would be no free and fair elections in the country under the shadow of the Provisional Constitution Order and emergency laws, which were “imposed by the dictator to perpetuate his rule.”

At a news conference held here on Saturday, NWP central leader Yusuf Mustikhan, who was accompanied by trade union leaders Ghulam Farid Awan of the All Pakistan Trade Unions’ Federation, Ayub Qureshi of the Pakistan Trade Unions’ Federation and Liaquat Ali Sahi of the PC Workers’ Yakjehti Committee, who were imprisoned on sedition charges and recently freed on bail, condemned the government for imposing a “mini martial law” in the country under the garb of emergency rule.

The NWP leader observed that the people of Pakistan would neither accept the emergency rule of Gen Musharraf nor the verdict announced by the PCO judges in this regard.

Mr Mustikhan supported the ongoing struggle of lawyers, journalists and other members of civil society for the restoration of democracy and constitutional rule and made an appeal to all parties to join the struggle for the establishment of an “undiluted democratic system” in the country.

He demanded that all the national parties should announce the boycott of the forthcoming elections being held under the PCO, otherwise, he said, the struggle of democracy would receive a great setback, claiming that the government that would emerge as a result of the elections held under the PCO would be worse than the present one.

Mr Mustikhan also condemned the military operation in Balochistan and called for collective resistance in the country to allay the sense of deprivation among the Baloch people.He slated the government’s curbs on the media and reaffirmed that his party stood for a free press and fully supported the ongoing struggle of journalists.

He also called for the removal of all restrictions on trade union activity in the country and condemned the retrenchment of workers in the KESC, Site and other government-controlled institutions and demanded that the labour policy should be framed with the consent of trade union leaders.

Farid Awan announced that the working class would actively support the struggle for democracy and, in this regard, a big workers’ solidarity rally would be held in front of the Karachi Press Club on Nov 26.

Akhtar Husain advocate, the NWP Secretary-General, said the lawyers’ community would never accept emergency rule and the PCO.