LAHORE, Nov 30: Disputing the validity of the sanction the acting president gave to Gen Pervez Musharraf to stay on both as president and the army chief by signing into law the "two offices" bill already passed by both houses of parliament , the PPP resolved on Tuesday to devote all its energies to dislodge the general from both offices in the shortest possible time.
The pledge was made at a convention the party held in the city to celebrate its 38th foundation day, with leaders from all four provinces and a few thousand workers, including women, present.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the party's senior vice-chairman, presided over the five-hour convention, held under the auspices of the party's Lahore organization.
A resolution demanded the dissolution of the assemblies by the end of December and fresh general election in the first quarter of 2005 under the supervision of the institutions like the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to ensure their transparency and impartiality.
It sought the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner as he was not trusted by the electorate. Annulment of the 17th Amendment and the return of the armed forces to the barracks were some other demands made by the participants.
All leaders praised the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Ms Benazir Bhutto for their valuable services to the country and their sacrifices to uphold their principles. Mr Asif Ali was eulogized for his steadfastness during his eight years under detention.
The crowd was responsive and they raised in chorus slogans against Gen Musharraf and in favour of the self-exiled former prime minister and her spouse. Mr Amin Fahim gave a new slogan which meant the military dictator would run, leaving both the offices. The audience repeated it with him.
Mr Fahim, who is also chairman of the ARD, advised the treasury benches that instead of blindly following the instructions coming from a dictator, they should establish their representative character.
Secretary General Jehangir Badar, in a declaration and speech, said the PPP under the leadership of Ms Bhutto would steer the country from dictatorship to democracy, re-establish the supremacy of law and free the judiciary from all pressures.
The declaration supported the Kashmiris' struggle for their right to self-determination, Iraqi resistance against the occupation forces and the movement by the Palestinians to have their independent and sovereign state.
Defectors, who had joined hands with the government, would be kept away from the party and the conspirators within the party would also be effectively dealt with, the PPP secretary-general said.
Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said the ARD wanted all opposition forces to launch a joint movement against Gen Musharraf. But, he said, the credibility record of the religious alliance was not praiseworthy.
He recalled that after raising slogans along with the ARD against the LFO and Gen Musharraf for full one year, the MMA suddenly struck a deal with the ruling party, which culminated in the approval of the 17th Amendment. This dodgy role of the religious alliance had alerted the ARD to be careful in the future, he said.
He reiterated his argument that while the president could become the COAS, the army chief could not wear the mantle of the head of state. Thus, he said, whatever steps had been taken to allow Gen Musharraf to stay on in both positions were devoid of constitutional backing.
A former minister for law and interior, Aitzaz said time was fast approaching when judges, generals and the mullahs would have to face accountability. Asif Ali Zardari's sister Dr Azra said the PPP's struggle would go on unabated unless Ms Bhutto returned home and became prime minister for a third term.
Deputy Secretary General Shah Mahmood Qureshi said after the release of Mr Zardari, the establishment would not be able to block Ms Bhutto's return to Pakistan. He said the PPP workers had come out to get their rights and they would win what he called the decisive battle they had launched. He also asked the leaders and workers to get ready for fresh elections.
Punjab PPP President Qasim Zia said people of his province would play a leading role in the struggle for democracy. He said the party's struggle would go on till Ms Bhutto came back to the country and assumed power.
"We'll not relax unless we bury the dictatorship", he said. Some resolutions called for the withdrawal of all cases against Ms Bhutto and other political leaders, including Javed Hashmi, and an end to the ongoing operation in tribal areas. One resolution condoled the death of UAE leader Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Resolutions were also passed on some subjects.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Khurshid Shah, Ms Naheed Khan, Nisar Khuhru, Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, Lashkari Raeesani, Rahim Dad Khan, N.D. Khan, Taj Haider, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Dr Ashraf Abbasi, Afzal Sindhu, Haji Azizur Rehman Chan, Sheikh Rafiq Ahmed, Farzana Raja, Abdul Qadir Shaheen and Malik Hakimeen Khan also addressed.
Aftab Shahban Mirani, Ehsanul Haq Paracha, Altaf Qureshi, Munawwar Anjum, Naveed Chaudhry, Ghazanfar Gul, Mushtaq Pagganwala, Sajida Mir, Ms Sagheera Islam, Faiza Malik, Azma Zahid Bukhari and Sohail Malik were prominent among the participants.