Islamabad, June 15: Threatening to launch a country-wide agitation against the continuation of Pervez Musharraf as President, opposition parties today urged the leaders of the four countries hosting him, including US and UK, to receive him as chief of Army and not as President of Pakistan during his forthcoming visit. Disputing the election of Musharraf as President through a referendum last year, leaders of the combined opposition parties said the Legal Framework Order (LFO) issued by him to validate the referendum and confer powers on himself was not ratified by Parliament.
In view of this, Musharraf should be received as only the chief of Army and not as President, they told reporters after a joint meeting of the opposition parties here. Musharraf embarks on a fortnight-long visit to UK, Germany, US and France tomorrow.
The meeting was attended among others by Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Mukhdhum Amin Fahim and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Javed Hashmi. The opposition parties also said that they would soon launch country-wide protest marches opposing the LFO but declined to give any date.
They said that combined opposition parties would soon move a no confidence motion against National Assembly speaker Amir Hussain for endorsing the LFO as part of the Constitution. Bureau Report