LAHORE, March 31: The PML-N declared here on Monday that it would not accept any agreement between the MMA and the government which undermined the supremacy of parliament or deformed the parliamentary system enshrined in the Constitution.
Two central leaders of the party said at a news conference that, if necessary, their party would single-handedly continue its struggle to uphold the values dear to its cause.
Ahsan Iqbal, chief organizer, and Jafar Iqbal, deputy secretary-general, underlined the need for greater cohesion among political parties at a juncture when the country faced a difficult situation because of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq.
They said the government should invite the exiled leadership to come back and play their role in steering the country out of the lurking dangers.
Ahsan Iqbal said although the government had extended full cooperation to the United States, the latter had sent a strong signal by imposing sanctions on an research institution of the country. As a consequence, he said, the defence capability of the country could be adversely affected.
Ahsan regretted that at a time when there was greater need for unity, parliament stood divided on the issue of the Legal Framework Order. The judiciary had also been targeted through the LFO and the chief justice, supposed to have retired on March 8, was still holding his office although the lawyers’ community was not willing to accept him any more.
The PML-N leader alleged that the so-called democratic government existed only on papers as all important decisions were being taken by the president.
If Gen Musharraf could induct the “NAB accused” in the cabinet for his own survival, why doors for conciliation could not be opened to national leaders now in exile, he asked.
He was critical of the government’s reluctance to issue a new passport to deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Jafar Iqbal said the government had not given a clear policy on Iraq. In his opinion the government had played its due role in the UN Security Council on the Iraq issue and had failed to send any relief goods to the war-affected country.