LAHORE, Nov 1: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) on Monday criticized Gen Pervez Musharraf for not allowing the Sharifs to attend the last rites of their family head in Lahore.

A meeting of the ARD held with Makhdoom Amin Fahim in the chair observed that dictators used to handle popular leadership in the same way.

The Makhdoom recalled that a few family members of the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had been allowed to see his body before being buried in the darkness of night.

Raja Zafarul Haq said that the proposal given by the government through its ambassador in Jeddah could not be accepted by the Sharifs.

He questioned whether any other Pakistani had been asked to submit a request for attending his father or mother's funeral prayers, a reference to the government's demand that the family must file a request for seeking permission to participate in Mian Sharif's burial in Lahore.

He regretted that the government had not set a good precedent.

Later, almost all ARD leaders attended the last rituals of Mian Sharif.