ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: The All Parties Democratic Movement, an alliance of major opposition parties, has given a call for a countrywide shutterdown strike on October 6, the polling day for the presidential election, and announced that its 236 legislators have handed over their resignations to the leadership.

The decision to give the call for strike was announced by APDM leaders after a meeting held at the residence of the deputy parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in Rawalpindi.

The resignations will be submitted to speakers of various assemblies on October 2 as a mark of protest against President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s bid to seek re-election for another term.

The heads of all the APDM parties handed over the resignations of their respective members to PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, PML-N chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said they had received the resignation of 84 MNAs and 152 MPAs.

He said it had been decided that the speakers of the NWFP and Balochistan assemblies would not resign from their offices and the assemblies.

He also announced that Oct 2 would be observed as a black day to condemn the police action against lawyers and journalists.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali, president of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Mehmood Khan Achakzai, acting PML-N president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) MNA Liaquat Baloch, JUP’s Sahibzada Abul Khair Zubair, JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and National Party chief Abdul Hayee Baloch were present on the occasion.

Mr Haq said the APDM leadership had in possession the resignations of 236 MPs, 61 of the PML-N, 59 of JI, 53 of JUI-F, nine of ANP and five each of PkMAP, JUP and NP.

He said all the MNAs would gather at the Parliament Lodges at 10am on October 2 and go to the Parliament House in a procession to hand over their resignation to the speaker.

Mr Haq condemned the police action against lawyers and journalists outside the Election Commission of Pakistan building.

He said the APDM leaders and workers would participate in the protest march of the journalists on Sunday.

Our Peshawar bureau adds: Lawmakers belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) handed over their resignation to the party’s provincial chief Senator Gul Naseeb at a ceremony here on Saturday.

Senator Gul Naseeb told journalists that 41 MPAs, including Chief Minister Akram Durrani, had submitted their resignation in accordance with the decision of the All Parties Democratic Alliance (APDM).

Lawmakers of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP) and PML (N) had already submitted their resignation to the heads of their parties.