QUETTA, Dec 2: The Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) said on Sunday that the JUI (F) and the MQM who enjoyed the support of the establishment, were participating in the elections to legitimise post-emergency actions of the government.

It said the two parties, in collaboration with President Musharraf and PPP chief Benazir Bhutto, were working against the democratic forces, judiciary and media.

Addressing a public meeting held to commemorate the 34th death anniversary of PMAP founder Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai in Liaquat Bagh, party leaders endorsed the APDM’s decision to boycott the polls.

PMAP provincial president Usman Kakar, Senator Ayaz Khan Jogezai, Dr Hamd Khan Achakzai, Rauf Lala, Abdur Rahim Ziaratwal and ANP provincial president Khudadad Khan addressed the gathering.

Usman Kakar said the Jan 8 election under the Musharraf regime was a ‘drama’ and the PPP and the JUI (F) were main characters in it to sabotage the boycott plan of other opposition parties.

He said that polls without restoration of the pre-emergency judiciary would be selection and not election because only those parties would succeed which supported the policies of the Musharraf government.

He claimed that the JUI-F and the MQM were working to undermine the independence of the judiciary, weaken real political groups and suppress freedom of the media.

He said that Ms Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman were opposing the boycott of polls following their meeting with the US ambassador in Islamabad, adding that the APDM would foil their conspiracy.

The meeting paid tributes to Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai for his struggle for rights of the Pakhtun people. It condemned the imposition of the state of emergency and the Provisional Constitution Order.