LAHORE, Jan 5: The Tehrik-i-Istaqlal has decided to hold a series of seminars for bringing all political parties on a platform against the increasing US interference in the internal affairs of the country.

Briefing reporters after the central executive committee meeting of the party held here on Sunday with Qaiser Ahmad Shaikh in the chair, TI president Rehmat Khan Vardag said the situation in the country was getting worse and only the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) could not cope with it.

Other political figures like Imran Khan and Air Marshal Asghar Khan would have to be taken along, especially in the Punjab, to make the voice of the opposition more stronger, he said.

Mr Vardag said that the meeting had formed a four-man committee to hold talks with former TI patron Asghar Khan for bringing him back to the party’s folds.

He believed that Mr Khan would not insist on merging the TI into the Qaumi Jamhoori Party formed by Mr Khan’s late son Omar Asghar Khan.

Party chairman Qaiser Shaikh said the Tehrik was of the considered opinion that the Legal Framework Order must be discussed on the floor of the National Assembly before making it part of the Constitution.

Criticizing the way the federal as well as the provincial governments were formed, he said the horse-trading introduced for the purpose would not serve the cause of democracy.

The party also opposed the FBI raids and demanded that domestic agencies should be used for investigating Pakistanis while cases against the suspects should also be put up before the local courts, he said.

He also urged the judges of the higher courts to take oath under the 1973 Constitution.

Holding policies of the government responsible for the increase in poverty graph, Mr Shaikh demanded that more funds should be allocated for education and health sectors while agriculture and industrial sectors should be further facilitated for creating more and more job opportunities.

He regretted that foreign exchange reserves had registered a big boost during the last year but its fruits did not reach the masses who were hard pressed due to increasing prices of oil and essentials.

Answering a question, he said as the party could not field its candidates for Jan 15 bypolls, it had decided to support opposition parties’ nominees against PML-Q aspirants.