ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) has devised a multi-pronged strategy to resist General Pervez Musharraf’s re-election bid as president.

PML-N deputy parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan made the announcement at a press conference here on Sunday and said that the components of the alliance would employ all constitutional, legal and political means to obstruct any such government move.

He said that a joint resignation from assemblies, seeking judicial proceedings and political activities beyond protest rallies were part of their strategy.

He also talked about a ‘direct action’ against Gen Musharraf, but did not divulge any details except for saying that September would bear witness to a major struggle.

He claimed that Gen Musharraf had decided to proclaim a state of emergency in the country and only abandoned the plan when he received a phone call from Washington. He added that the president went to Kabul only at the behest of the US even though he had earlier expressed his inability to attend the grand jirga there.

He questioned why Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was made the scapegoat in the situation when Gen Musharraf decided not to travel to Afghanistan for security reasons. “If there was a security risk for Musharraf, there was a risk for Shaukat Aziz as well,” he said.

He ruled out the possibility of a martial law in the country and termed such threats as an attempt to pressurise the judiciary. “It is not October, 1999, when Musharraf’s words would become the law of the land. The situation has now changed and such an unconstitutional move will be resisted by the people of Pakistan with full force,” he claimed.

He said Gen Musharraf’s statement that he might opt for an extra-constitutional step had been noticed by the opposition and a suitable legal action would be taken if such a step was made.

About a possible deal between President Musharraf and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, he said that such reports had appeared in the media in the past as well, which were repeatedly denied. He said a recent statement attributed to Ms Bhutto about a possible understanding had also been denied. Further, he said, the two sides had not yet formally accepted the purported meeting between Gen Musharraf and Ms Bhutto in Abu Dhabi.

He claimed that the general had now become irrelevant to the politics in the country and said he was riding a sinking boat. “The entire nation is on one side and Musharraf is on the other side. The one who sides with Musharraf at this stage will also meet his fate,” he said.

Chaudhry Nisar criticised Gen Musharraf for reportedly saying that the return of exiled leaders would lead to instability in the country. He said the country was already unstable due to the perpetuated military rule and the meddling of foreign powers into our internal affairs.

He claimed that General Musharraf had lost his credibility and was becoming a source of defamation for the army. He claimed that written instructions had been issued to officers and jawans of the Pakistan Army urging them not to wear military uniforms except while on duty.

About reports that the government would submit to the apex court the alleged agreement under which PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had been exiled to Saudi Arabia, he said the Supreme Court would decide the case on the basis of the law and Constitution and not on the proofs provided by Gen Musharraf.