Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) on Thursday announced it would shortly convene a meeting of the opposition groups on the pattern of All Parties Conference to finalise strategy for launching a decisive movement to press President General Pervez Musharraf to doff his uniform by the end of this year.
Speaking at a news conference here PML-N acting parliamentary leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said all the component groups of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and other smaller parties including nationalists entities would be invited to join the movement.
When asked whether right wing Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) would be invited, Nisar did not come out with a categorical 'yes', as he reluctantly responded "All the opposition parties will be approached."
When contacted after the news conference, a MMA spokesperson said the alliance too wanted to launch a movement to compel Musharraf to quit Chief of the Army Staff office as he promised in 17th constitutional amendment early this year.
Asked whether the religious alliance would like to be a part of the initiative taken by another party, he said "Only time and field would decide who head the movement against the uniformed President."
Experts were of the view if Musharraf did not shed his uniform within the given timeframe, the political career and credibility of MMA, which won more than 60 National Assembly seats in October 2002 general election by opposing the President's pro-USA policies, would be at stake.
General Pervez Musharraf who promised to shed military uniform by December 31, 2004 under a deal with MMA early this year has already refused to quit COAS office in a televised interview few days back.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi and many other leaders of governing Pakistan Muslim League (PML) have also demanded of the President not to doff his uniform for another five-year term in national interest.
Chaudhry Nisar criticised these leaders for issuing statements to mislead public about the uniform issue.
However, he maintained democratic alliance would not allow anyone to keep the country away from the track of true democracy.
Nisar underlined the need for a full time army chief as the security problems that the country was facing were of serious nature.
Chaudhry asked the cronies of Musharraf to keep national interests above their favouritism as he lashed at them for damaging the very annals of national security.
He mocked at the thesis that 96 per cent of Pakistanis were favouring Musharraf and added the ARD would corroborate that 96 percent dislike him for assuming two posts.
Giving statistics he said other parties including PPP, PML-N and MMA got more votes than the PML in last general elections, which indicated that people did not like the policies of Musharraf.
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