PESHAWAR, Sept 30: The People’s Party Parliamentarians has criticised President Gen Pervez Musharraf for allegedly violating the country’s law for the publicity of his controversial book on sensitive issues relating to national security.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, PPP’s NWFP chapter senior vice-president Syed Qamar Abbas said Gen Musharraf had engaged in propaganda for the sale of his “manufactured memoirs”.

He said the book was an attempt to distort the political history of Pakistan. He said it was being denounced by saner elements across the country. He said his party would not allow any military ruler to show political expediency on Kashmir and nuclear issues.

He said the president had followed the path of Gen Ayub Khan, who had got tailored a similar book to sell the agenda of his “phoney development” in Pakistan. He said such fact-distorting tomes ultimately landed in junk shops.

The PPP leader said Gen Musharraf had taken the nation hostage seven years ago and abrogated the Constitution.

Instead of restoring the constitution in its original shape, he said, Gen Musharraf was criticising popular leaders, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had restored the image of the armed forces and brought back war prisoners from India.

He said the PPP would not allow any military ruler to say a word against Mr Bhutto who had embraced martyrdom but had not bowed before a military dictator.

He said the recently-released report of the Amnesty International was enough to judge the “liberal and enlightened” face of the Gen Musharraf regime.

He said Mr Bhutto was the creator of the 1973 Constitution, chairman of the Islamic Summit and head of the biggest political party of the country. He alleged that Gen Yahya Khan had surrendered national pride and one wing of the country, while Mr Bhutto had sacrificed his life. He said this was the difference between a democrat and a dictator.

Mr Qamar said the making and breaking of political parties by Gen Musharraf to prolong his rule could prove a counter-productive exercise.

He said genuine political forces would not allow Gen Musharraf to run the country like his fiefdom and undermine the elected parliament.