KARACHI, May 29: The All-Parties Action Committee — comprising 19 political parties and groups — has announced the launch next month of a joint campaign against the Legal Framework Order, besides other issues confronted by the people.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday in a local hotel, the APAC leader Nasrullah Shaji, who is also the deputy opposition leader in Sindh Assembly, said the movement would be kicked off with the holding of a demonstration on June 2 in Karachi to mobilize the people against LFO, an unconstitutional president, rising unemployment, price hike, frequent power shutdowns, water shortage and raise in power rates.

He also demanded that the Karachi police be given under the control of city government and money collected under the motor vehicles tax be handed over to the local government. Likewise, revenue generated by the Karachi Port Trust be transferred to Sindh.

“PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto be allowed to return home and Asif Ali Zardari and Yunus be released,” he demanded, adding the June 2nd protest rally would start from Regal Chowk and end in front of the Karachi Press Club.

In his opening statement, the APAC leader said the country was passing through a constitutional crisis as military rulers wanted to make LFO a part of the Constitution while almost all the members of parliament and common people who believed in democracy wanted that every law be formulated in the legislatures in accordance with the process prescribed.

He said the military rulers wanted to make LFO a part of the Constitution. But the main political parties neither accepted it a part of the Constitution nor did they hold Gen Musharraf a Constitutional president, whether in uniform or in achkan. He said the political parties would continue to protest until elections were held to elect a president.

Present on the occasion too were S.M. Altaf, Syed Muhammad Agha, Zafar Taqi Rizvi and Anwar Yusuf Zai.