Imran urges all parties to quit assemblies

Lahore: Former cricketer-turned-politician and the chairman of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf Imran Khan has urged all the opposition parties to quit the assemblies, saying it was the right time to remove all their differences.

Talking to newsmen in Lahore, Imran said those who were trying to create rift among lawyers were actually trying to bail out President Musharraf and the lawyers should hold them accountable.

He said the lawyers' historic protest could ensure independent judiciary, real democracy and supremacy of law for the first time in the country.

"It is the defining moment in the history of our country. And a right time for the opposition parties to quit the assemblies and launch a mass movement against a dictator. They should come out on the streets and mobilise the masses to transform the lawyers' struggle into a countrywide movement".

Manhandling

Imran said: "General Musharraf has admitted to manhandling of the chief justice of the apex court but has neither apologised to Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry nor his administration has taken any action against those who were involved in his the manhandling episode.

"His administration has not manhandled the chief justice of Pakistan but the symbol of the justice in Pakistan." Imran paid homage to Chaudhry for refusing to bow before a dictator adding that in the past Musharraf had also threatened Abdul Qadeer Khan and Zafar Jamali.

Appreciating the role of legal fraternity, their firmness and unity on the Chaudhry issue, he, without naming a particular party, warned all political parties against entering into any kind of a secret deal with Musharraf. "That would be disastrous if we fail to rid the country of dictatorship once and for all. Therefore all the parties should set aside their difference and join hands for this national cause," he added.