LAHORE, Jan 28: Leaders of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy reiterated on Tuesday that they did not accept Gen Musharraf as president and the LFO as part of the Constitution. They resolved to continue their struggle in the assemblies and outside to have the un-amended 1973 Constitution and genuine democracy restored.

At a dinner for the PPP MPAs and Senate candidates, they said they would pave the way for the return home of the exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif as a system without them could not be called representative.

ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said parliament could not be sovereign in the presence of the National Security Council and the president’s power to sack assemblies.

Punjab PML-N President Zulfikar Khosa said Mian Nawaz Sharif and Ms Bhutto had directed their respective parties to cooperate with each other for the sake of democracy and the Constitution.

Had the two parties cooperated fully in the elections, he said, the situation would have been different from what was today. He believed that the two parties had now realized that their non-cooperation in the elections had benefited the third party.

Khosa said the two parties would behave differently in the future.

Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia said all his party leaders would abide by the decisions taken by the leadership.

meeting: A meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy is due to be held at the Defence residence of PML-N leader Begum Tehmina Daultana on Wednesday.

The political situation, especially after the byelections, and the Legal Framework Order which has been made part of the Constitution, will be among the subjects which will come under discussion.

“Everything under the sun will be discussed at the meeting”, said the ARD president of the agenda.

The participants will also decide the coalition’s point of view for the Thursday all-party conference being organized by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan.

It is said that applications from some more parties to join the alliance will also come under discussion.

Some ARD leaders arrived in Lahore on Tuesday and met the ARD president.

PERVAIZ MALIK: Mean-while, PML-N MNA Pervaiz Malik on Tuesday asked the government to convene a session of the National Assembly within a week or opposition parties would requisition one.