LAHORE, July 15: The All Parties Democratic Movement will dislodge President Pervez Musharraf through a mass struggle even if the electoral process is delayed as a consequence, says PML-N secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.

The APDM, he said while talking to Dawn on Sunday, wanted open and honest general elections which would not be possible in the presence of Gen Musharraf. Therefore, he said, the APDM would first oust the general and then think of the new polls.

“Delayed elections are better than rigged elections”, said Jhagra who has just returned from London after participating in a conference at which the APDM was founded, of which the PPP is not a member.

The PML-N leader said an interim government should be set up only after the ouster of Gen Musharraf and the caretakers should then reconstitute the election commission in consultation with the opposition parties.

Jhagra said the PPP was welcome to join the APDM for struggle on the points of agreement. The APDM, he said, was a formidable coalition of opposition parties from all provinces and it would force Gen Musharraf to quit. When a movement was launched, he claimed, those on the side of Gen Musharraf would not be able to retain their boss in power.

The PML-N leader said Mr Sharif had directed all provincial presidents of the party to submit him a report by first week

of August on the state of preparations for the polls. Adjustments with other parties would be considered only after the announcement of the election schedule, he explained.

Asked if MMA President Qazi Husain Ahmed had consulted the APDM leaders before announcing his decision to resign as a member of the National Assembly, Jhagra answered in the negative. However, he said, at the London conference the MMA chief had proposed that all opposition legislators should quit by the end of the month.

The participants in the MPC decided that all lawmakers should vacate their seats when Gen Musharraf announced his decision to get elected from the present assemblies.

Jhagra said the MMA president had taken an individual decision because of the killings of the Jamia Hafsa students as a result of a military operation and at the call of his conscience. He said no one should have any objection to the Qazi’s decision.

He said the parties in the APDM would be meeting in Islamabad on July 30 to review the situation and decide their future course of action. The participants would also look into the deteriorating law and order situation after the Jamia Hafsa operation and consider steps needed to control it.

The APDM had already decided to hold public meetings in Quetta and Islamabad on Aug 9 and 14, respectively, Jhagra said, adding that the dates for such meetings in other cities would come under discussion at the July 30 talks.