[Dawn] Pakistain's opposition parties have vowed to stay united to protect democracy in the face of "conpiracies being hatched to derail the democratic process."At least 25,000 people are estimated to be taking part in the largest rally in the capital since the current government took office in 2008 and leader Tahir-ul Qadri, who has called for the government's immediate resignation, on Wednesday urged mainstream politicians to support his cause.
But the leader of Pakistain's opposition,
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, announced after consultations with main opposition parties that they would not be joining Qadri in a move that appeared to isolate the populist holy man.
"This meeting demands from the government that an election schedule and caretaker set-up should be announced without any delay and dates for these events specified forthwith," Sharif, who was unseated as prime minister by a military coup in 1999, announced at a news conference in Lahore.
The joint consultative meeting of all major opposition parties expressed the resolve to hold general elections on time and to not accept any delay in the polls.
The session vowed to continue upholding the rule of the law and the Constitution at all costs.
Qadri wants parliament dissolved now and a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and judiciary to implement reforms such as setting up a new election commission and banning corrupt candidates.
But Sharif defended the current election commission, saying: "People should refrain from making any demands which are not in the ambit of the constitution."
Addressing the session, Sharif, who heads the Pakistain Moslem League -- Nawaz (PML-N), the main opposition party in the National Assembly, said that his party was not working for power but for democracy.
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
, chief of the Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said that all parties would collectively condemn any unconstituitional step. He said that, instead of delaying polls, the government should immediately announce date for general elections.
Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI) chief Syed Munawwar Hassan said that non-democratic forces should not be given any chances. Mehmood Khan Achakzai of the Pakhtun Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) remarked that politics had no room for 'clowns'. The session was also attended by Talal Akbar Bugti, Hamid Nasir Chattha, Haroon Akhtar, among other opposition leaders.
A statement was issued from Prime Minister office later on Wednesday, with PM Raja Pervez Ashraf welcoming the opposition parties' position.