ISLAMABAD, April 27: The leadership of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) will soon take other opposition parties into confidence on the meeting between former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto in London.

Talking to Dawn after his return from London on Thursday, the ARD secretary-general, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, said that it had been agreed by the leadership of both the parties to brief all the opposition parties and groups on the decisions taken at the meeting.

Mr Jhagra termed the meeting “encouraging” and said that it would have a healthy impact on the future politics of the country. He said that originally the meeting was scheduled to take place for 30 minutes, but the two leaders continued talks for more than two hours.

Mr Jhagra, who is also the PML-N secretary general, said that the two leaders had agreed to formally meet again in May in which a historic “Charter of Democracy” would be signed.

Replying to a question, he said the ARD leadership would meet the leaders of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) in the next few days to apprise them about the developments that took place in the London meeting.

In response to another question, Mr Jhagra said that the launching of an anti-government movement still topped the ARD agenda and it was wrong to say that the alliance had focussed its energies on the next elections instead of the anti-government movement. He said the ARD believed that removal of the present rulers was a must for free and fair elections in the country.

Replying to yet another question, Mr Jhagra said that both the ARD and the MMA had the potential to launch a forceful movement against the government separately. However, he said, the leaders of the alliances had realized that the rulers could be shown the door much earlier if they launched a joint movement.

Mr Jhagra said the ARD was also planning to hold an all parties conference (APC) of the opposition parties in London. He said the date for the APC and future strategy would be finalised in the next meeting of the ARD scheduled to be held on Tuesday or Wednesday either in Islamabad or in Lahore.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that almost all the leaders of PPP and the PML-N had come back after staying in London for about two weeks. The ARD chairman, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, and Senator Raza Rabbani have also come back.