KARACHI, April 25: Alliance for Restoration of Democracy, contrary to the City Nazim’s advice to advance their public meeting date from April 29 to either the 25th or 26th, has decided to stick with its plan to hold the meeting at Nishtar Park.

The provincial ARD leaders will meet on April 26, at Bilawal House, to review arrangements and preparations for the meeting. Meanwhile, the ARD has decided that large processions arriving from all divisional, district, city and Tehsil areas of Sindh would converge at Nishtar Park, a press release said.

ARD Sindh Secretary General, Rashid Rabbani, said that the national democratic forces had accepted the challenge of Gen Pervez Musharraf, who had asked them to “organize and show peoples’ gatherings.”

Mr Rabbani said that the city government and Sindh administration, a week back, had informed the ARD that since Pervez Musharraf had allowed the opposition to hold meetings they would not block it. But, he said, some personnel of the Sindh administration had been informing that the ARD was not allowed to hold the April 29 meeting.

However, there was no legal or moral justification of not allowing ARD to hold the public meeting. As such, the alliance had decided to go according to the schedule and hold the meeting at Nishtar Park on the said date.