KARACHI, Dec 24: The secretary-general of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party Sindh chapter, Nafees Siddiqui, said on Sunday that in the upcoming general elections enlightened forces and those who firmly believed in Quaid-i-Azam's ideals of democracy and constitutional supremacy would be pitted against those who were opportunists and worked against these objectives.

Mr Siddiqui was speaking at a news conference during which 65 men and women joined the PPP and declared they would work to strengthen democratic forces.

He was of the view that a vast majority of the population would have to play a decisive role in the upcoming polls to defeat forces of oppression, opportunism and dictatorship.

Rejecting the notion of any deal between the PPP and the regime, Mr Siddiqui said that however, there could be talks with the government with the specific purpose of ensuring free, fair and transparent elections under a caretaker government of national consensus, setting up of an independent election commission with administrative and other powers and ensuring level playing field to all the political parties and leaders.

He said that the regime had exposed its intentions of partisanship by not allowing Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to return and participate in the polls and that General Musharraf would not give up military uniform until he felt necessary.

Mr Siddiqui , who is also the PPP's candidate in the NA-250 by-elections and demanded immediate holding of those elections. He said that the PPP had not asked for the postponement and alleged that after its defeat in Shikarpur the government was afraid to face the PPP.

FELICITATIONS: The Pakistan Peoples Party Women’s Wing (Sindh) has extended warm felicitations to the Christian community on the occasion of Christmas.