Special report: Pakistani Situation

    ISLAMABAD, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM), an alliance comprising around 30 opposition parties in Pakistan, failed to reached a consensus on whether or not to boycott the upcoming general elections after an hours-long meeting on Sunday.

    The APDM made a decision at the meeting held at the residence of Nawaz Sharif who is the top leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and also leader of the alliance in the eastern city of Lahore, the News Network International news agency reported.

Pakistan former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif(L) chats with opposition leader Qazi Hussein Ahmed during a meeting to finalize the strategy for the upcoming elections, in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    According to the decision of the APDM meeting, component parties of the alliance can either take part in or boycott the general elections, which are scheduled to be held on Jan. 8 next year.

    The component parties of APDM gathered in Lahore last Thursday and announced that they would boycott the general elections in principle.

    Sharif met with Benazir Bhutto, who is Chairperson of a major opposition party called People's Party (PPP), on Monday night and decided to propose a "charter of demands" for the government. They decided that the general elections should be boycotted if their demands were not met by the government.

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto (C) prays over the tomb of a Sufi saint on the outskirts of Islamabad December 6, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The APDM, especially PML-N, insisted that the judges who were deposed after President Pervez Musharraf proclaimed a state of emergency and promulgated a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) should be restored. However, the PPP said that only parliament could reinstate those judges who had not taken oath under the PCO.

    Hence the APDM and the PPP failed to propose a charter of demands on a timely basis. Benazir also reiterated that the PPP would participate in the general elections with protest.

    A number of judges refused to take oath under the PCO after the imposition of emergency on Nov. 3. The Supreme Court announced in a ruling that those judges who did not take oath would cease to hold office.

    After taking oath as a civilian president on Nov. 29, Musharraf urged all the political parties to take an active part in the general elections and vowed to hold the elections as scheduled. 

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