Islamabad: Pakistan's pro-Democracy parties today (Dec 28, 2003) boycotted a special meeting held by Premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to brief them about the issues and preparations for next week's SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit as also the controversy surrounding the alleged proliferation of nuclear technology by the country's scientists.

The 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), consisting moderate Opposition parties including Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-N, boycotted the meeting by Jamali for the country's political parties.

While the Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA), which called off its agitation against President Pervez Musharraf this week after reaching an agreement on his controversial Constitutional amendments, attended the meeting, the ARD boycotted it saying it does not want to give a "photo opportunity" to the Government to show the people that it too was a part of the MMA-Government deal.

"We do not want to be seen as a part of MMA-Government agreement on Constitutional amendments and Musharraf. If we attended they will use it as a photo opportunity. The boycott has nothing to do with SAARC," PPP spokesman Senator Faratullah Babar said.

MMA leaders, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman of Jamat Ulema Islami and Qazi Hussain Ahmad of Jamat-e-Islami, attended the meeting in which Jamali and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri briefed them about the SAARC Summit and the chances of bilateral meetings between Indian and Pakistani leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

The MMA leaders were also briefed on the questioning of top nuclear scientists by security agencies following allegations of proliferation of nuclear technology to Iran and Libya.