LONDON, June 12: The proposed Multi-Party Conference (MPC) being hosted here by the ARD on July 7 and 8 is likely to discuss modalities of launching a countrywide political struggle against the military-led government of President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

“And we will be inviting Mr Nawaz Sharif to come home and lead this struggle,” said Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan, indicating that the former prime minister was most likely to return to the country in late July or early September.

Imran was speaking at a joint press conference along with Nawaz Sharif at the PML-N’s international headquarters on Tuesday.

Describing the MPC as a milestone, Imran appealed to Benazir Bhutto to attend the MPC as, according to him, the struggle to be launched, would be against all dictatorial forces and, so, all democratic forces must join hands.

Mr Sharif supported the viewpoint of Imran, and said the MPC was aimed at unifying all democratic forces in the struggle for the restoration of the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.

Imran said the purpose of his visit to Britain was to meet decision-makers and law-enforcement agencies of the British government and to apprise them of what he said was the mafia style politics of the MQM.

Mr Imran said that his decision to file a case against Mr Hussain was irrevocable, “but the timing of the proceeding in this respect will entirely be that of my solicitor who is the best human rights’ lawyer in the UK. He is gathering evidence and would brief the press on the progress so far made in this connection on Wednesday.”

Intervening, Mr Sharif said in 1998 he had dissolved coalition with the MQM in the Sindh government when he received hard evidence that it was involved in the murder of Hakim Saeed.

When asked if he (Nawaz Sharif) would appear as a witness against Mr Hussain if called to do so in Imran’s case against the MQM chief, Imran interjected and said that it would not be necessary as he had already collected a large quantum of evidence and that even former MQM people, victims of Altaf Hussain’s cruelty, were ready to appear as witnesses in the case.