LAHORE, March 20: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Deputy Secretary-General Liaquat Baloch has demanded resignation of President Pervez Musharraf which, he says, is the only way to overcome the worst crisis in the country’s judicial history.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Baloch said time had now come that the country should have a government of national consensus headed by the Senate chairman to hold the next general election under the supervision of an autonomous election commission.

The polls should be supervised by the judiciary, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who should be reinstated to his office to defuse the crisis, he added.

He said the MMA would give the lawyers’ rally on Wednesday a rousing reception at Masjid-i-Shuhada, urging the Punjab government not to obstruct the demonstration because it was destined to remain peaceful. “The legal fraternity was using its right to protest against the unconstitutional steps taken on March 9 and subsequent use of force against the peaceful protestors.”

Commenting on the statement issued by PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto that her party would not join any agitation launched by the MMA, he said she had her own agenda of returning to power which did not include political and democratic struggle. The PPP, he said, had exposed its designs by abstaining from the struggle, he added.

The MMA leader claimed that Gen Pervez Musharraf now stood isolated and his foreign allies also seemed to have left him high and dry. He was of the view that the regime had damaged all pillars of the state by targeting the judiciary and media and it was left with no choice but to abdicate power to pave the way for a caretaker administration.

He said it was wrong to say that the movement against the crisis was being organised only by lawyers. Political parties, particularly the MMA, not only stood behind the lawyers but also participated in the movement, he said.

Hidden hand: The Pakistan Christian National Party on Tuesday blamed certain ‘hidden hands’ within the regime for hatching a ‘conspiracy’ against the rulers.

A resolution adopted by the party at a meeting chaired by its head Joseph Francis said though the role of chief ministers of the Punjab and Sindh, federal law minister Wasi Zafar and information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani was conspicuous in creating present critical situation, certain ‘hidden hands’ from within the regime were also behind, what it called, the worst crisis in the country’s judicial history.

The party decided to participate in the rally jointly called by the Pakistan Bar Council, the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Lahore High Court Bar Association on Wednesday (today).

The resolution said that the present situation was a result of the `anti-people and repressive’ policies pursued by the regime for more than seven years, through which, it alleged, the rulers wanted to muffle the voice of masses.

Dr ISRAR: Markazi Anjuman Khuddamul Quran leader Dr Israr Ahmad said in a press statement the government must restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry if it wanted to make up for what it did on March 9.

He said the government should also restrain itself from using force against peaceful rallies and should allow the lawyers to hold a protest demonstration on Wednesday.