MULTAN, Nov 22: MMA's central leader and JI secretary-general Syed Munawwar Hasan has said the government's offer to the alliance for talks over the disputed matters is nothing but a fraud.

This he said while addressing at a reception organized by the Makhdoom Rasheed chapter of his party here on Monday. He said if the government was serious in mending differences with the opposition it should first release all the political prisoners, including Javed Hashmi, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

He said the MMA had provided a 'safe passage' to the army to go back to their barracks through the 17th amendment to the constitution, but Gen Musharraf had backed out from his promise to shed his military uniform by Dec 31, 2004. 'The nation will not tolerate the betrayer and now he will have to leave all the offices under his belt,' he said.

Mr Hasan said they were launching a peaceful movement for the restoration of democracy and elimination of military role in political affairs. But if the government attempted to create hurdles then the alliance would have no other way except to take their movement to the streets.

Welcoming the ARD's decision of launching movement against the government, he said the MMA would invite all the opposition parties in its rallies against the Musharraf government. He said the MMA's leadership would participate in the public meetings organized by the ARD if its leadership reciprocated MMA's gesture.

The government, he said, had been trumpeting about its so-called 'Kissan package' but in reality there was nothing in it for the small growers. He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had been the economic manager of the country for the last over five years and the outcome of his policies was addition of about eight million souls to country's population living below the poverty line.