LAHORE, Feb 22: Opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro has urged the governor to ask Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim to seek a trust vote from the house.

He told reporters here on Tuesday that the governor should exercise his constitutional powers in this regard.

He said Imtiaz Sheikh, who had been sacked as minister for revenue, had levelled serious corruption charges against the chief minister. Mr Sheikh, he said, had also claimed that some 20 MPAs of the ruling party were with him.

Mr Khuhro said in such a situation it was imperative that the governor ascertain whether the chief minister still enjoyed majority's confidence. The PPP leader said the assembly could decide who should be the leader of the house.

Meanwhile, various PPP leaders on Tuesday praised the party's struggle for democracy and resolved to continue it till the achievement of the goal. They said at a workshop a compromise with dictators could pave the way for the exiled leaders to return home without delay. But, the party would not sacrifice its principles at the altar of expediency.

Those who spoke at the workshop included secretary-general Jehangir Badar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Nisar Khuhro, Federal Council secretary-general Khalid Kharal and Munir Khan. Former secretary-general Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Lahore president Haji Azizur Rehman Chan were among the participants.

Mr Badar said the PPP was struggling for the supremacy of the constitutional institutions. Dictatorship would have perpetuated itself if the PPP had not struggled against it, he added.

He made it clear that the party had closed its doors on what he called traitors and turncoats and would not take them back at any cost. Other leaders said the PPP wanted to introduce in the country a system envisioned by the Quaid-i-Azam. They said Gen Musharraf had tarnished the constitution and the PPP did not accept the amendments incorporated by him.