HYDERABAD, April 9: The central deputy general secretary of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has said that the general elections will have to be held in October 2007, adding that General Pervez Musharraf will not be re-elected as president.

MNA Liaquat Baloch did not rule out the possibility of the MMA holding a meeting with the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) in London in the near future.

Speaking at a news conference at the Hyderabad Press Club here on Sunday evening, the MMA leader said the opposition was determined to launch a strong movement for the acceptance of its demands and it kept all its options opened.

He said some ministers were flattering the president by issuing statements in his praise. President Musharraf in uniform was an unconstitutional president and in his presence, impartial and transparent elections could not be held, he said.

The MMA leader said, in view of the constitutional compulsions, the general elections would have to be held under all circumstances by October 2007. He said the tenure of the assemblies could not be extended.

He said General Pervez Musharraf was the most unpopular ruler in the history of the country and all his policies had failed.

The MMA leader said General Musharraf alone was responsible for the direct interference of American ministers and army generals in the internal affairs of Pakistan.

The MMA leader said the visit of US president to Afghanistan and India had been a planned affair, but he had come to Pakistan only to exert pressure on Gen Musharraf and seek his cooperation for the aggressive designs of the US against Iran.

He said the ongoing army operations in the tribal areas and Balochistan were harmful for the solidarity of the country. The siege to the houses of Baloch leaders in Karachi had fully exposed the MQM’s stance on Balochistan.

He stressed the need for resolving the Balochistan imbroglio and the army operation issue through a parliamentary committee and talks with Baloch leaders.

He said Pervez Musharraf had presented a one-sided and ambiguous view on the Kashmir issue, as a result of which Kashmir was no longer on the international agenda.

He said the MMA had planned to hold a National Kashmir Advisory Conference in Islamabad on April 15, to reject the government policies on Kashmir and to develop a national consensus.

He claimed that India had not budged an inch on its stand on Kashmir but due to the wrong policies of the present rulers in Pakistan, the Kashmiris were losing faith in Islamabad’s policies.

Liaquat Baloch claimed that the construction of Bhasha dam was being delayed as the experts had rejected its feasibility report.

He proposed that the issue of water reservoirs should be discussed at joint meeting of parliament, where the objections raised by the provinces should be discussed.

The MMA leader said that the crisis of sugar and cement were artificial which were the result of the inefficiency of the government.

He said that the opposition was of the unanimous opinion that General Pervez Musharraf should resign, the senate chairman should become the acting president of the country and an interim national government should be appointed in consultation with opposition parties.

He said the opposition was also unanimous that the constitution of Pakistan should be restored as it stood in October 1999.

He said that a meeting of the steering committee of the opposition parties is schedule to be held within the next few days and if considered necessary a meeting of the heads of MMA and ARD would be held in London.

He condemned the demolition of houses in Sindh and added that people speaking different languages were living in the colonies.

Naib Amir, Jamat-e-Islami Sindh, Abdul Ghafoor Umer, district president MMA Hyderabad, Moulana Abdul Waheed Qureshi, secretary information JI Sindh, Mujahid Baloch, Shaikh Shoukat Ali and other leaders were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, he inaugurated a laboratory of Jafri Hospital, which has been set-up at the Madersa, Riazul Uloom, Usman Shah goth at the outskirts of Hyderabad.