Pakistan political alliance, ARD may break up: reports

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Islamabad, July 25 (UNI) Rifts have surfaced in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) due to the growing distrust between its main component parties - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), in the wake of the recently-concluded multi-party conference (MPC) in London.

The information secretaries of the two parties yesterday issued separate statements accusing each other of going the wrong way and violating the Charter of Democracy (CoD), signed by the ARD component parties last year, Dawn newspaper reported.

The differences between the two parties emerged when the PPP refused to join the newly-formed All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM)during the MPC held in London two weeks ago, saying that the formation of a grand opposition alliance was not included in the MPC agenda. The PPP also refused to join the APDM due to the presence of the Muttahida Majlis-i Amal (MMA) in it.

PPP information secretary Sherry Rehman in her statement yesterday said the PPP had taken a clear initiative in signing the CoD as well as formulating the ARD when its component parties, including the PML-N, needed support.

She said instead of planting discord in the ARD, democracy would be better served if the PML-N stuck to the CoD's aim of ridding politics of military interference.

Ms Rehman said it was the PML-N which had created a new alliance without consulting or obtaining consent from its partner in the ARD.

She said ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim would call a meeting of the alliance under no terms from anyone, as most component parties still seek to adhere to the terms of the CoD.

PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal, on the other hand, said the PPP senior leadership by repeatedly admitting parleys with the Musharraf regime was ''sabotaging the democratic struggle of political workers and lawyers.'' ''Under this situation, if the ARD meeting is convened, it will create more tension within component parties,'' he observed.

He also said the ARD meeting could only take place when all component parties gave an assurance to strictly adhere to the CoD and ARD's code, which very clearly stopped all parties from having parleys and soliciting support from the military regime for coming into the government.

Mr Iqbal was of the view that the political action had now shifted to the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) platform, which was a grand alliance of all those democratic parties which wanted to replace Gen Musharraf with a genuine democratic order.

All parties that seek true democracy whether secular, religious, national or regional have joined hands for establishing rule of law, restoration of genuine democracy, and holding free and fair elections in the country, he said, adding the APDM was a dividing line between pro and anti-Musharraf forces. He said the parties which wanted to ride two boats at the same time stood exposed.

Denying charges of the PML-N, Ms Rehman said the PPP had never cut any underhand deal with the military nor had its leadership ever availed of an opportunity to flee jail. ''Its dialogue with the regime has been focused on steps for the restoration of democracy through constitutional means via a free and fair election,'' she added.

UNI

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