ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has so far not taken any decision of sending a delegation to meet President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the party spokesman said in a statement here on Thursday.

The spokesman denied press reports that a four-member delegation would be meeting President Musharraf on November 5.

The PPP leaders will meet in Islamabad on November 2 and again on November 5 to decide what position should be taken with regard to any future contacts, he said.

The spokesman said Asif Ali Zardari, Hakim Ali Zardari, former speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani, PPP secretary-general Jehangir Badr and many others had wrongly been arrested under special laws in contravention of the normal laws of the country.

He said the government was persecuting Benazir Bhutto by not issuing her passport. “Shockingly, the passport was withheld by Gen Musharraf’s own office”, he added.

The spokesman said continued persecution of the office- bearers had led some of the party members to believe that the Musharraf regime was still a hostage to extremist forces.

Other than a few top generals, the federal cabinet, the National Security Council and provincial governments were controlled by elements which were brought in by extremist forces in 1999, he claimed.

Religious parties have been given a free hand to hold demonstrations, block highways, hire trucks and carry weapons. In contrast, the PPP meetings were disrupted and its members arrested, he added.

The spokesman said the party had noted that public sentiments were turning against the regime and the PPP could undermine its own popularity by associating itself with an unpopular government.

He said the PML-N and MQM leaders were all released, including those sentenced by the Supreme Court. “An ANP leader was also released”, he added.

“The contrast in treatment is a signal to the PPP that it is being targeted”, he said.

The spokesman said Benazir Bhutto had, on the understanding that the party’s grievances would be redressed, had nominated a four-member team to hold discussions with the military regime.

“As the party continues to be a target of the military regime, its leaders will meet to discuss the situation under the backdrop of the current political scenario”, he said. The spokesman said the prevailing view now was that the military wished to signal to the Bush administration that it was in control. But, the domestic situation continued to be volatile, he added.

The anti-Taliban forces, with the PPP in the lead, continue to be persecuted while the pro-Taliban forces have been given a free hand.