LAHORE, Oct 26: Not ruling out ‘other options’, the PML-N is confident that it can send President Asif Ali Zardari packing just through public pressure.

Party’s Information Secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan says though apparently there seems no way to oust the PPP co-chairperson from the presidency, they are confident that public pressure has always been effective in providing a way to oust strong presidents and prime ministers.

Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday about the PML-N’s ‘Go Zardari Go’ rallies, one of which to be held in the city this Friday (tomorrow), he said it was the first step to mobilise the masses against what he said “the corrupt and inefficient Zardari regime”.

If received a good response, according to him, the party would go for a long march in second phase of the anti-Zardari drive. Unlike the long march for the restoration of deposed judges held in March 2009, this time it would be initiated from all the four provinces and not just from Lahore, he said.

Resigning from all the elected houses, including Punjab Assembly, would be the third and final step to put pressure on President Zardari and his government to go home, Khan added.

Asked if these measures would be enough to remove Zardari from presidency, the PML-N leader asserted that the public pressure would result in some way to achieve the goal like what happened during the long march for restoration of the deposed judges.When reminded that it was the army that had made the government ‘realise’ the gravity of the situation, he said it was the public power that forced the army to intervene. “Many forces come into action in the wake of public pressure.”Asked if it meant the party would welcome army’s intervention too in the ouster of President Zardari, the senator said it was out of question while they also did not want to drag courts into political arena.

“We believe only in constitutional, legal and peaceful democratic means, including public demonstrations and protests, for making and breaking of governments.”

He said impeachment of the president had been an option under consideration of the party but the idea was abandoned for want of required parliamentary strength.

Asked if the PML-N would take along the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in its fight against the PPP government, he said the JI was a natural ally and its help might be sought for electoral alliance or anti-government drive at an appropriate time.

About Imran Khan’s PTI, he said how they could talk to a person who talks about sweeping the country like a tsunami and builds his arguments on hearsays and uses ‘uncivilised’ language against political rivals.

He alleged that Imran was and is agent of certain forces active only to damage the PML-N vote bank and is politically ‘immature’.

He claimed that they had documentary evidence about financial corruption of ‘Mr Clean’ and would make it public at an appropriate time.

He asked where from the PTI chief had got the money to arrange successive sit-ins and rallies in the country as just a few months ago he (Imran) had said on record that the party lacked funds to arrange big shows and perform other publicity stunts.

“Either he has got funds in an underhand deal with the PPP government or the agencies or through betting in cricket as (cricketer) Salman Butt talked to Imran before accepting the alleged deal with the bookies,” the PML-N information secretary added.