LAHORE, July 13: A summit meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy has been convened in the city on Sunday (today) to discuss the government’s refusal to allow it to contact the masses.

The meeting will also deliberate upon the SC decision to uphold the qualification bar for the candidates and party leaders and the contents of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s Friday speech.

The alliance had made an abortive attempt to hold a public meeting at the Clock Tower Chowk in Multan on Friday with the permission of the district government headed by the PPP-backed Nazim, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

But the provincial government cancelled the permission citing law and order concerns and arrested dozens of activists of the ARD constituents, thwarting their bid to hold the meeting.

The Punjab chief secretary, Home Department secretary and the inspector-general of police had reached Multan on Thursday to supervise the action. The ARD was offered to hold its meeting at the Qasim Bagh Stadium but rejected the idea.

The alliance has cancelled its meetings scheduled at Faisalabad and Sargodha on July 14 and 16, respectively, in the wake of Multan episode.

Meanwhile, ARD president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan has condemned the government for not allowing politicians to contact the electorate. He said the alliance would discuss the issue along with other matters on Sunday and decide its future course of action. The Nawabzada is one of the politicians hit by the qualification bar.