HYDERABAD, April 3: Leader of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed on Tuesday called for formation of a neutral interim government and an independent election commission to hold free and fair elections.

Speaking at a rally organised by the Hyderabad chapter of MMA outside the press club he said that the opposition was firm in its demand for independent election commission and free and fair elections.

Only a handful of generals had tarnished the credibility of armed forces otherwise people had always respected their army, he said. The rally began from Hyder Chowk and terminated outside the press club.

He called for holding open trial of Justice Iftikhar and urged the judges who faced objections from the CJP to dissociate themselves from the Supreme Judicial Council.

He said that the president who had apologised for attack on media should also tender apology for the treatment meted out to Justice Iftikhar. Gen Pervez’s policy to weaken institutions to perpetuate his rule would in the end do great harm to the country's integrity, he said.

He paid tribute to Justice Iftikhar for showing courage in the face all the odds and praised lawyers for showing unprecedented unity in the wake of presidential reference against chief justice.