OKARA, Jan 8: ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan has said that the political parties would hold a round-table conference on Iraq issue after the by-elections.

He made this announcement while speaking at district bar association’s Quaid-i-Azam Hall here on Wednesday.

He said President Pervez Musharraf was the real ruler of the country rather than the prime minister. He termed the formation of national security council a permanent source of disturbance in national politics.

The Nawabzada alleged that the Pakistan-first slogan adopted by President Pervez Musharraf was meant to satisfy India and convey to it the “intended” withdrawal of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir.

He said FBI’s working in Pakistan posed a threat to national security and sovereignty. Khwajas’ arrest was such a closely-guarded secret that even Chief Minister Pervez Elahi did not know anything about it, he added.

He appealed to the nation to unite itself and support ARD’s struggle for revival of real democracy in the country.

The ARD chief accused the US of backing India in a bid to destroy Pakistan’s nuclear programme. After Iraq, it might be Pakistan’s turn to bear the brunt of a US attack, he feared.

“Despite all the differences, we are trying to forge a consensus on the opposition leader in the National Assembly,” he said.

Journalist Altaf Hasan Qureshi, Bar president Rana Mohammad Farooq Khan and secretary-general Izharul Haq Toor also spoke on the occasion.