LAHORE, Dec 9: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy will scrap all unconstitutional steps taken by the ruling PML-Q in collusion with the MMA, an alliance official warned here on Tuesday.

ARD Deputy Information Secretary Munir Ahmad Khan said in at least five all-party conferences the MMA had pledged not to accept the LFO or Gen Musharraf as president. Along with the other participants, he said, the MMA had called for the election of the president and the appointment of a new army chief.

After these demands, he said, the religious-party alliance was left with no justification to make a U-turn.

The ARD leader said the government’s talks with the MMA could not be called parleys with the opposition, as this role was being played by the ARD. “Although any constitutional amendment can be made with a two-thirds majority, the ARD will strike down all those changes that are inconsistent with its principled stand,” he said.

He asked the MMA not to blindly follow what the government was asking it to do. Recognizing Gen Musharraf in his uniform would amount to saying goodbye to the parliamentary system. “The general will not become the legitimate president by seeking a confidence vote,” claimed the ARD leader.