ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: The Pakistan People’s Party said on Tuesday that its reconciliation with Gen Pervez Musharraf was not dictated by opportunism but by the desire for ‘an orderly transition to democracy’.

In a statement that left many questions unanswered, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar insisted that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was “a broad package of reforms that facilitates transition to democracy”.

“Its very preamble acknowledges the abuses that occurred under dictatorship by stating that it is expedient to promote national reconciliation, foster mutual trust and confidence among holders of the public office and remove the vestiges of political vendetta and victimisation and to make the electoral process more transparent,” he said.

When asked many PPP leaders avoided giving their views on merits and demerits of the NRO. They were unable to explain why they were also seeking amnesty for those PPP (Patriots) leaders who, according to them, had defected from the party after the 2002 polls because of their involvement in corruption. “I have no answer to your questions,” said a senior PPP leader.

Defending the party’s decision to reach an understanding with the Musharraf regime, Mr Babar said: “We recognise that protests in the streets lead to loss of life, liberty and livelihood.

Therefore, we have always used protests as the last option when other doors are closed. Our goal from the outset was to set the course for a successful transition to democracy and a political marginalisation of the anti-people and extremist forces.”

The NRO, he said, was a broad package of reforms that facilitated the transition to democracy in Pakistan, adding that the call to drop politically-motivated cases was enshrined in the Charter of Democracy and resolutions of the Pakistan Bar Association, ARD and other major political parties.

Mr Babar said the PPP had upheld its democratic principles in negotiations with the regime. “It insists on free, fair and transparent elections, supervised by a neutral caretaker government and an independent Election Commission. It insists on a civilian president without uniform, restoration of the balance of powers between the president and the prime minister and an end to the ban on third-term premiership,” he added.

Mr Babar said the negotiations were not structured around any power-sharing concept and the issue of which political party would form the government would be determined only by the people of Pakistan.

“The PPP believes that transition to democracy, which begins with the promulgation of NRO, will take place in a phased manner. Some critical steps, including the arrangement for shedding of the uniform, have already been taken. Other key issues on the electoral reform are still being discussed.”

The PPP spokesman said that a parliamentary committee on ethics would be set up to address the problem of governmental intimidation undoing the will of the electorate as was the case in the 2002 election.

“The committee will prevent intimidation of members of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies by the government to cross party lines under coercive threat of charges and imprisonment on trumped up political charges,” he added.