ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim has that a final decision about the mode of protest inside the house on the eve of joint session of parliament would be taken jointly by the ARD component parties and other opposition parties when the time came for it.

He said the government had launched a disinformation campaign against the PPP and it had been propagated that the PPP had reached an agreement with the regime under which it would stage a walkout from parliament during the joint session after five minutes' protest to allow Gen Musharraf to continue his address without interruption.

In a statement, he said such reports seemed to be a part of the government's efforts to "demoralize and frighten" the opposition and create rifts within its ranks.

"How can democratic forces and parties let an unelected person enter the Parliament House and address them as an elected president without any protest?," Mr Fahim said.

He said the opposition would exercise its democratic right of protest on the day of joint session. "How can any democracy-loving person sit quiet and not bring to the attention of the world through protest inside parliament that the backdoor for the highest elected office in the country was opened for a general through the murder of the Constitution connived by some political forces in a display of unprecedented political opportunism?" he added.