ISLAMABAD, 7 December 2004 — Pakistan’s secular opposition parties launched a campaign yesterday to force President Pervez Musharraf to step down, in the latest political protests to hit the country.
The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy held its first public rally against Musharraf in Batkhela town, 130 km northeast of the frontier town of Peshawar.
“We have launched a single-agenda movement against Musharraf from today and will continue till his removal from the office of president,” alliance chief Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who is also a leader of former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party, told supporters.
A six-party alliance of religious parties called Muttaheda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has also launched anti-Musharraf protests in key Pakistani cities to force him to quit as army chief, holding a rally in central Multan city on Sunday.
But while MMA wants Musharraf to continue as president as a civilian, the secular parties want him to be completely ousted, saying his holding both the positions violates the constitution.
Pakistan’s Parliament last week enacted a bill allowing Musharraf to remain army chief, less than 12 months after he promised to become a civilian leader by the end of 2004.
