LAHORE, Sept 1: The PML-N will formally propose in the Sept 4 conference of political leaders, intellectuals and professionals, being hosted by the Jamaat-i-Islami, that all participants should demand that the next general elections be held under the supervision of the United Nations, a top party leader said on Thursday.

Raja Zafarul Haq, the chairman, said while talking to Dawn that the judiciary and the election commission had failed to maintain the sanctity of the ballot and now the world body was the last ray of hope for the people.

The PML-N leader said that it was provided in Article 2 of the UN Charter that the world body would get the people their right to vote, and since the present rulers had snatched that right people had the right to approach the UN.

Raja said the opposition was now struggling for what he called liberation of Pakistan from the clutches of dictatorship.

If the opposition parties were serious in doing something concrete, he said, they should launch a struggle from a joint platform. He said a grand opposition alliance could be formed for the purpose. However, he said, the ARD and the MMA could also carry on their struggle from their respective platforms. “If they can make adjustments in local elections, why can’t they join hands for a greater national cause”, the PML-N leader said.

Asked about the justification for the opposition parties to take part in the third phase of the local elections after levelling serious allegations of rigging in the earlier two, the PML-N chairman said it was a debatable issue. He said in case of boycott, the government would get an excuse to say that the opposition was wriggling out of the electoral process.

He was of the view that the opposition should take part in the process and at the same time continue its struggle.

Answering a question about the ability of the opposition to launch an anti-government campaign immediately after the elections in which many parties had made adjustments with the ruling coalition, Raja said violation of the ‘no-adjustment’ policy was regrettable. He believed that when a struggle was launched, people would forget that adjustments had been made in the local polls. Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary-General Syed Munawwar Hasan said the Sept 4 conference could pave the way for a greater opposition alliance. He said since Mr Asif Ali Zardari’s talks with the establishment had failed to make any headway, the PPP was left with no option but to stand with other opposition parties.

He said a total of 100 people belonging to various walks of life had been invited to the conference. Ruling PML MNA Hamid Nasir Chattha, who is also chairman of the Kashmir Committee, Senator S.M. Zafar, former prime minister Zafarullah Jamali, former presidents Rafiq Tarar and Ghulam Ishaq Khan, former chief justices Sajjad Ali Shah and Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, former foreign ministers Sahabzada Yakub Khan and Agha Shah, a number of retired generals and leaders of all important opposition parties are among the invitees.

The JI leader said forcing Gen Pervez Musharraf to quit and electing a new president through a procedure laid down in the Constitution, riddance from the military dictatorship for good and appointment of an independent election commissioner in consultation with the opposition are some of the major objectives for which the conference was being organized.

According to him, the declaration to be issued at the end of the conference had already been provided to Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who has cleared it with Ms Benazir Bhutto.

Answering a question, Syed Munawwar Hasan said various political parties had refused to take part in the future elections to be held in the presence of Gen Musharraf.

He said although some opposition leaders had talked of demanding future elections under the supervision of the United Nations, their stand was not very clear.

People’s Party Parliamentarians Secretary-General Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that the Sept 4 meeting could lay the foundation of a grand opposition alliance.

He said leaders of various parties would get an opportunity to exchange views and decide a common line of action to bring the people on the streets.

The PPP leader supported the view that the United Nations should be asked to supervise the electoral process in the country as all other state institutions had failed to discharge their obligations.

A member of the National Assembly, Raja said a large number of people were sitting outside the Election Commission to have their grievances redressed. Regrettably, he said, if recounting was ordered on the petition of one candidate, the same was stopped on an application moved by his opponent. As a result, nobody was getting justice.

The PPP leader said while the losers had already lost their confidence in the electoral system, the winners also gave least credibility to the process.

He said it was unfortunate that Gen Musharraf, who had held politicians responsible for every problem in the country, had failed on all fronts.