March 6, 2007: The Pakistan Peoples Party has ruled out voting for General Musharaf as President of Pakistan from the present Assemblies as claimed by Minister of Railways Shaikh Rashid.

In a statement today Raja Pervez Ashraf MNA and deputy leader of the Parliamentary Party in the National Assembly said that the Party would oppose the re-election of General Musharaf from the present Assemblies, as it would be unconstitutional and illegal.

He said that Shaikh Rashid had a past association with hard-line members of the security establishment and fronted a government farm at Tarnol to train militants. This group of some retired military officials who had fought the Afghan Jihad had never forgiven the PPP for opposing their godfather General Zia and was responsible for the overthrow of the PPP government. They had brought to power all the cronies of the Zia era including his son and the son of the ISI General who ran the Afghan Jihad. They had also patted Shaikh Rashid on the head and had been indirectly running the country through the ruling PML Q. Now the PML Q and its backers were frightened of the forthcoming elections and were busy spreading disinformation as part of a psychological war against the people of Pakistan.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the PPP had faith in the people of Pakistan who were politically mature and were not going to fall for the disinformation campaign of the present rulers.

The PPP leader said so frightened were the rulers of the people of Pakistan and the power of the people through the ballot that they were even thinking of postponing the elections. However, the people would not permit this.

The ruling Party, the PPP leader said, has already conceded defeat in the next general elections by admitting that it could not elect General Musharaf as President from the next Assembly. Therefore they have begged General Musharaf to contest from the present Assemblies so that they can exploit the name of the army for their partisan political purposes, he said.

The PPP leader said that General Musharaf was elected in December 2004 through a vote of confidence and could not be re-elected through the present Assemblies and that the Party would oppose Musharaf's re-election from the present Assemblies.

The PPP leader also asked Shaikh Rashid to return the government property at Tarnol which he had illegally occupied.