Islamabad Ahsan Iqbal of the Pakistan Muslim League-N denounced the character assassination campaign against his partys presidential candidate Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, while defending the PML-Ns "principled and democratic" stance in a press-conference on Saturday.

Iqbal told reporters that the PML-N will never compromise on its belief that former President Musharrafs emergency proclamation of November 3 and subsequent government actions - including the removal of dozens of superior court justices - were unjustified and illegal.

On Monday, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif resigned from the government, choosing instead to sit in the opposition benches over the very same issue.

Iqbal went on to criticise the Pakistan Peoples Partys "self-contradictory" stance on restoration.

The PPP has stated that though restoration must be indeed be a priority, full reinstatement is unpractical and unwise.

Iqbal argued that by recognising the validity of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar - who was appointed to replace the anti-Musharraf former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry -  the PPP is choosing to validate the actions of Musharraf on November 3.

Iqbal also stated that by refusing to order a full reinstatement, the PPP had reneged on commitments made in the Murree Declaration, in which the PPP and PML-N agreed to work together to achieve reinstatement of the deposed judiciary.

He also alleged that certain PPP candidates were taking part in an character assassination campaign against the PML-Ns candidate for the upcoming presidential election, Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui.

Iqbal also contended that as the chairman of the governing PPP, Asif Ali Zardari was unsuitable for the office of President, which calls for a non-partisan character who "symbolises the unity of the federation."

However, Ahsan Iqbal was faced with an embarassing situation when one reporter enquired about the parallels between the removal of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and that of former Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who was dismissed by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif following a contempt case against the then-Prime Minister Sharif in 1997.

Ahsan Iqbal responded by saying that there was no similarity between the two matters.