KARACHI, Oct 2: Asif Ali Zardari, interned husband of PPP-P chairperson Ms Benazir Bhutto, on Saturday ruled out possibility of any dialogue between the party and Gen Musharraf.
He, however, added that if the GHQ or the Establishment showed seriousness, the party, in the larger interest of nation, would not make it a question of ego.
He was responding to newsmen's questions during an informal conversation after the day's hearing of Mir Murtaza murder case at the Karachi Central Prison.
Expressing his views on Gen Musharraf's position, Mr Zardari said that according to the Constitution, he had now become a retired general. As such, he said, talks could not be held with him.
He also said that Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's understanding with Gen Musharraf on the 17th constitutional amendment was a big mistake and a curse for which Qazi Hussain Ahmad should apologise to the people of Pakistan.
Mr Zardari appeared confident that the general would be forced out of both the office he was holding at the moment within this year and the PPP-P would emerge victorious in fresh elections with the help of democratic forces.
"If Gen Musharraf believes that his military position is well protected under the 17th amendment, then the MMA should be asked the question, because it's the MMA which had caused irreparable damage to the democratic dispensation, Constitution and masses by supporting the general on the issue."
He acknowledged that MMA was an important political force, but refused to recognize it as an opposition party. He asked the alliance to support the PPP-P and its allied democratic forces in their struggle against the government.
"I am not afraid of the regime... and would endure the Establishment's excesses on me as long as this may be necessary for the people of the country," said Mr Zardari.
He observed that more and more people were being rendered jobless due to the government's policies and many of them were resorting to commit suicide amid unimaginable price hike.
Lashing out at, what he termed, "the regime's dictatorial and anti-people policies," the PPP-P leader pointed out that political forces were gaining ground and writ of the government was withering away.
Mr Zardari condemned the terrorist attack on a mosque in Sialkot on Friday and claimed that it was result of the government's failure in maintaining law and order and ensuring safety and security of citizens.
He was of the view that owing to wrong political decisions taken by the government, the country was more exposed to threats from within than external forces.
Replying to a question, he said that a former justice, Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, had appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of Gen Musharraf's possible act of retaining his military post simultaneously with the office of the president.
He refuted the reported claim about his meeting with Mr Tariq Aziz, Principal Secretary to Gen Musharraf, and also rejected reports of any deal between his party and the government.
"If any such negotiations are held in future, they would not be kept secret," he declared.