KARACHI, July 26: The secretary general of the PPP Sindh chapter Mr Nafis Siddiqui said here on Wednesday that there could be no free, fair and transparent elections under Gen Musharraf's dispensation.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Nafees Siddiqui claimed that with each passing day, Musharraf regime was becoming weak and loosing ground, which was evident from the unfolding scandals of corruption.

He said that the countdown for removing Gen Pervez Musharraf and dismantling his dispensation would commence from Aug 1, when the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy would decide the modus operandi of the movement.

He said there was complete unanimity among opposition parties on the main objective of the struggle and claimed that within three months it would lead to an interim setup for holding free, fair and transparent elections under an independent Election Commission.

He claimed that the opposition parties represented the true aspirations of the people of Pakistan who wanted an end to Musharraf dispensation and return of the military to the barracks to pave the way for a strong and sustainable constitutional democracy in which parliament is supreme.

Mr. Siddiqui said that the PPP was striving for making Benazir Bhutto prime minister for the third term.

He said that ARD components and other opposition parties and alliances were struggling for saving the country from disintegration. He claimed that the Charter of Democracy signed by Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif and endorsed by other opposition parties was to achieve that objective.

He claimed the CoD would support and build institutions - ensuring the parliament was supreme and judiciary was really independent and the benefit of economic progress should trickle down to the common man. It also envisaged financial powers to the Senate.

He also slammed the ban on teacher’s associations and called it intolerant and dictatorial measure of the regime. He said the decision should be reversed because it was not only contrary to the rights guaranteed in the constitution but also inhuman.

Mr Siddiqui welcomed the decision of the election commission to allow old ID cards for registration of name in the voters’ lists and casting ballot but expressed concern over manipulation of voter lists.

Additional Information Secretary of the provincial chapter Waqar Mehdi, President and Secretary General of Karachi chapter, Rashid Rabbani and Rafiq Engineer were also present.