KARACHI, Sept 29: The interim chief of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, said on Monday that there could be a meaningful dialogue only if the regime accepted that the Legal Framework Order was not part of the Constitution.

Talking to newsmen, Mr Fahim, who is also chief of the PPP Parliamentarians, said that there could be no talks if the PML-Q chief, Chaudhury Shujaat Hussain, or anybody else insisted that the LFO was an integral part of the Constitution.

He said the struggle of the ARD against dictatorship would continue despite the fact that a dictator was still calling the shots through the LFO.

Mr Fahim said that during the initial rounds of talks, the opposition had put forward its reservations. He added that if the reservations had been taken into consideration, a lot of progress would have been made. He alleged that, instead, the government had chosen to ignore the reservations by resorting to machinations.

He paid homage to the late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, and said that the leaders of the ARD component parties would meet in the first week of October to decide what strategy they would adopt to ensure the supremacy of parliament.

When asked to divulge the details of the 14-point formula devised by the late Nawabzada in consultation with Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, and which he had failed to announce because of his sudden illness, Mr Fahim said everything would be announced after the next month’s meeting.

He dispelled the impression that the ARD would disintegrate after the death of Nawabzada Nasarullah Khan. He added that such misleading information was being disseminated by the government, which he accused of using the National Accountability Bureau to harass political opponents.

Mr Fahim said he was in touch with political leaders, adding that he had spoken to Nawab Akbar Bugti. He told a questioner that he was not in contact with the Generals. He said the PPP would contest the elections if they were called, adding that if the elections were held in a transparent manner his party would win with a thumping majority.

He said public rallies had been rescheduled because of the death of Nawabzada Nasarullah Khan.

Mr Fahim said the ARD would choose a leader in its meeting in October, adds PPI.

He welcomed the continuing suspension of Pakistan’s membership from the Commonwealth, saying that democracy had not yet been restored in the country. “The Commonwealth should restore Pakistan’s membership only after the restoration of democracy,” he said.