LAHORE, Aug 5: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) wants the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) to change its venue for the Aug 14 public meeting in Rawalpindi.

Both the alliances want to hold their meetings at Liaquat Bagh.

A delegation of the ARD, led by PPP secretary-general Jehangir Badar, called on MMA deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch and others to discuss the issue at Mansoora on Tuesday.

The MMA pleaded that it had started making formal arrangements after its decision to

hold the meeting on the Independence Day was endorsed by the July 6 ARD meeting and the July 26 all parties conferences.

The ARD argued that as it had announced the event earlier and completed all arrangements, the MMA should change the venue for its meeting.

It claimed that the MMA team had promised to place the request before its top leadership at the next summit meeting.

Those who were present at the two-hour meeting included Khwaja Saad Rafiq, Munir Ahmad Khan, Munir Gilani, Zaeem Husain Qadri, Hafiz Idrees, Pir Ijaz Hashmi, Riaz Durrani and Abdul Jalil Naqvi.

Meanwhile, the Punjab ARD says the alliance has informed the government in black and white about its proposed Aug 14 public meeting at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.

Four committees have been formed to make the event a success, ARD leaders Jehangir Badar, Tehmina Daultana, Qasim Zia, Khwaja Saad Rafiq and Abdul Qadir Shaheen told a press conference here on Tuesday.

They said that the alliance would not bother whether or not the government allowed it to hold the meeting.

They said they had unsuccessfully tried to convince the government to discuss the LFO on the negotiation table, and the issue would now be “discussed” in assemblies and streets.

The protest would continue until Gen Pervez Musharraf did not shed his uniform, they said.

There was no democracy in the country, and only martial law in the garb of so-called real democracy, they alleged.

They said all routes would lead to Rawalpindi on Aug 14 as PPP and PML-N leaders in Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Jhelum and Rawalpindi districts had been directed to make all arrangements for welcoming the processions moving to Liaquat Bagh.

The committees include the information committee led by Zaeem Husain Qadri, finance committee under Nawaz Gondal, coordination committee under Abdul Qadeer Khamosh and route committee headed by Abdul Qadir Shaheen.

The coordination committee would contact other political and labour parties in this regard.