KARACHI, Aug 16: Abdullah Hussain Haroon, a former speaker of the Sindh Assembly, has urged the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) not to distract from their common objective — restoration of democracy in the country — and reminded them that had already pledged to work together in this direction while signing the “charter of democracy”.

Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, he warned the major parties that the present government was pursing the policy of “divide and rule”, observing that its only aim was to perpetuate its rule. He said that interlopers were out to create rifts within the two major parties to disintegrate them just to hinder return of democracy to the country.

“The major parties must remain united to foil their nefarious designs,” he stressed, and invited all democratic forces and organisations to attend a get-together to be held in Hyderabad on Sept 8 in this regard. He announced that Haji Abdullah Haroon Memorial Society would present a medal to a person who would have extraordinarily served the cause of democracy in the recent past.

Mr Haroon called for empowering the chief election commissioner and provincial election commissioners to call out the armed forces and paramilitary troops to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in the country.