LAHORE, Sept 5: All opposition parties are now convinced that President Pervez Musharraf cannot be trusted with fair and free elections and he must be thrown out of the system before the next general polls. This was claimed by Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan while addressing a press conference here on Monday. His party leader Umer Sarfraz Cheema was also present on the occasion.

This convergence of views, in itself, was a big achievement, Mr Khan said.

The opposition was now in the process of devising a strategy for getting rid of Pervez Musharraf, he said and added that it could include anything: street agitation, collective resignations by opposition and pressing him out of the system.

“But the opposition is totally convinced that the next general elections should not be held under Pervez Musharraf and the incumbent election commissioner.”

Talking about the possibility of some opposition parties still engaged in talks with the government in spite of these political views, Mr Khan said that he was not sure which party could still opt for talks with the government, but, apparently, there was no basis for talks.

He said every opposition party realized that President Musharraf was doing everything to prolong his rule. He let the Americans bomb Afghans, strafed Pakistani territory (South Waziristan), handed over scores of people to Americans without any trial and is now “engaged” with Israel. All this was being done to prolong one-man rule in the country, he said.

In these circumstances, any party would engage itself in some sort of talks with the government at the risk of its own political life, he said.

Talking about the government’s contacts with Israel, Mr Khan said one must see these latest developments part of the same effort. Pervez Musharraf wanted to please the powerful Jewish lobby in the USA to prolong self-rule. Otherwise, there was no basis for talks with Israel, he alleged.

The Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief said first the government lied that it had got blessings of the Palestinian people. Later, it retracted when the Palestinians denied granting permission to open talks.