ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: A meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), tentatively scheduled to be organized in Lahore on August 7, will now be held in Islamabad, said the alliance secretary-general, Zafar Iqbal Jhagra.

Talking to Dawn here on Tuesday, Mr Jhagra said the venue had been finalized after consultation with all the heads of component parties of the alliance. Now the meeting will be held at the central secretariat of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in Islamabad, he added.

The ARD secretary-general said the meeting had been convened to review the political situation in the country after the recent terrorist attack on Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Law and order situation in the country and the Iraq issue will top the agenda of the ARD meeting, he added. Meanwhile, sources said the ARD leaders would also discuss the issue of "ongoing military operation against the nationalist parties in Balochistan".