KARACHI, Nov 22: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has expressed concern over deployment of 13,000 scouts and FC and Rangers personnel in Dera Bugti for a ‘new operation’.

The central leaders of the alliance which met here on Tuesday at the residence of PPP leader Nafees Siddiqui decided to call a national convention on December 16 to chalk out a plan for launching a movement if the government did not ‘abandon its designs’. Makhdoom Amin Faheem, who is president of the alliance, presided over the meeting.

PML-N leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, who briefed journalists on decisions taken at the meeting, said the ARD condemned the government’s attitude towards the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, an ally of the ARD, and demanded that actions being taken against the party should be stopped forthwith and its leaders, Afaq Ahmad and Aamir Khan, and other important political leaders, including Syed Javed Hashmi and Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, be immediately released.

The ARD also decided to participate in by-elections for three provincial constituencies in Karachi and the NA constituency in Jacobabad and support opposition candidates.

The alliance expressed reservations on the government’s invitation to the opposition to join the newly constituted parliamentary committee for supervision of relief work. A decision in this regard will be taken at a meeting of the combined opposition, including MMA leaders, to be held in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The meeting called upon the government to allow the popular leadership of the country to return home and play their role in mitigating the sufferings of quake-stricken people.

Mr Jhagra said the alliance was of the view that had the government acted on time, lives of thousands of more people could have been saved. According to ARD estimates, between 200,000 to 250,000 people had died in the quake.

He said that the Jamhoori Watan Party was an important ally of the ARD and its leaders Amanullah Khan Kenrani and Shahid Bugti briefed the meeting on the situation in Balochistan.

He recalled that the ARD had condemned the previous army operation in the Bugti area in which an attempt was made on the life of Nawab Bugti.

Demanding immediate withdrawal of all forces from Balochistan and their deployment in quake-hit areas of Azad Kashmir and the NWFP for relief work, Mr Jhagra said there was no need for US and Nato troops for relief work which could be carried out by Pakistani troops.

Referring to the government announcement about the parliamentary committee to supervise relief work, the ARD leader said the opposition had made such a demand soon after the quake and offered its full cooperation. But this opportunity was lost. Later he send, the opposition had suggested the convening of a joint session of parliament to formulate a joint strategy to meet the colossal challenge, but it was not accepted. When the opposition asked the government to discuss the matter in the National Assembly which was in session at that time, the government offered a ‘lame excuse’ that this could not be done for technical reasons.

Mr Jhagra said although the government was claiming that donors’ conference was a success, out of the $5.8 billion pledged only $1.9 billion was in grants, which included announcements made previously by foreign governments, and the remaining amount was in soft loans.

In reply to a question, he said that the opposition had been invited only for a photo session at the conference and, therefore, it did not accept the invitation.