LAHORE, May 2: The Qadri faction of the JUI has decided to join the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy. Faction chief Maulana Ajmal Qadri told newsmen at a press conference here on Sunday that he was already supporting the cause of the alliance. However, he decided to formally join the alliance after recently holding a meeting with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in Dubai.

A formal request has been made in this regard to the ARD. He favoured return of Ms Bhutto, Shahbaz Sharif and Altaf Husain and urged the government not to resist in this respect as these leaders had better international standing than Mr Jamali.

Mr Qadri believed that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal would play no respectable and objective role in the future political scene after compromizing with Gen Musharraf over the LFO issue.

He opposed the ban on wheat movement and termed it a conspiracy to weaken the federation. Seeking increased relations between the two Punjabs in India and Pakistan, he said it would fortify importance of the Muslims in politics in both the countries. To strengthen the relationship, his party had also started publishing its weekly in Gurmukhi script from May 1.