Islamabad, Sept 06: Pakistan's opposition alliance, the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), has said it will launch a joint poll campaign on September 15 with a rally, while saying its options to boycott the polls are open. "We have decided to hold our first rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on September 15," ARD president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan told reporters after a meeting of the alliance yesterday.
Khan said the 15-party alliance that includes Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples' Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), has decided to hold all public rallies from the platform of ARD, adding dates for subsequent rallies would be decided later on.
The meeting has decided that the alliance will continue to exist even after the elections, he said.

On the question of boycotting the October elections, Khan said, "the ARD has not decided yet to boycott the elections, but all the cards are still open and we will play them according to game plan," Khan said.
He criticised the government for keeping two former Prime Ministers - Bhutto and Sharif - out of the contest, saying it would affect the political atmosphere of the country.
He alleged that the government has come out with total support to the Grand National Alliance (GNA) and even accepted the fake degrees of candidates of government-supported parties.
He also claimed that the election cells established in the governor's houses as well as anti-corruption officials and police were being used to compel the opposition candidates to shift sides. Bureau Report