ISLAMABAD, March 9: The component parties of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) have held the Sindh government responsible for the murder of the PPP MPA, Abdullah Murad Baloch , in Karachi alleging that the federal government has failed to establish the writ of law in the country.

Speaking at a joint news conference after staging a walkout from the National Assembly (NA) and boycotting the whole day's proceedings, the leaders of the ARD said that the alliance would launch the second phase of the drive against President Gen Pervez Musharraf from March 11.

They criticized the NA speaker for not allowing the alliance's members to express their views regarding the murder of the MPA. ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim said that they wanted to convey the sentiments of the people of Sindh about the murder of the PPP MPA and the attitude of the police officials in handling the case.

He said the speaker had left them with no choice, but to boycott the session when he disallowed the ARD members from taking the floor to express their feelings.

ARD acting president Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the GHQ was holding all the powers despite the presence of parliament and an elected government. He said there was no writ of law in the country where a COAS had survived assassination attempts; a sitting MNA was shot dead in the federal capital; and a sitting MPA was killed in Karachi.

The leaders said that they would not accept an alliance with the MMA as the religio-political conglomerate had helped the government in getting the 17th amendment passed.