Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Human Rights Wing President Senator Muhammad Latif Khosa asked President General Pervez Musharraf to doff uniform before elections and let the polls be held under the supervision of a national government, through an independent Election Commission.
Delivering speech at a convention, organised by High Court Bar on Tuesday, the PPP leader rejected any deal with General Pervez Musharraf whom they said was in a serious trouble at the moment to deal with affairs at home and at the international level.
Carrying a resolution the convention also called for the return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif with grace and dignity. He vowed to continue their support to the lawyers struggle to save the federation and for restoration of a truly democratic government in the country.
When judges take oath under the PCO their independence becomes questionable. Regarding the reference against the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, he viewed, the prime minister being himself a party before the Supreme Court, was not competent to advise move of the same.
Khosa lauded the CJP for resisting every pressure from the generals at a place where hardly anyone could withstand such a situation. He said the masses were getting tremendous inspiration from the CJPs steadfastness and as a result, General Musharraf's grip on power was fast loosening up.
He said that Pakistan was on the crossroad of its history, which was being written with the struggle of lawyers. He said if they failed this time, another tragedy might overtake the country. He appreciated unity in the lawyers' ranks and denounced the government attempts to break the same.
Former Foreign Minister Sardar Asef Ahmad Ali said: "Only writ of that person is lasting who enjoys public support, which Musharraf lacks." Earlier, Habibullah Shakir, President of High Court Bar Association and Rana Naveed Ahmed, General Secretary also spoke.