Islamabad: The opposition Pakistan People's Party today said its MPs will boycott a session of the National Assembly convened tomorrow by President Pervez Musharraf and stage a protest outside parliament to press for the end of the emergency.

Speaking to reporters shortly after she arrived here from Karachi to hold talks with other opposition leaders on steps to oppose the emergency imposed on Saturday, PPP chairperson and former premier Benazir Bhutto said Musharraf should announce the schedule for the general election before November 15 and lift all curbs on the media.

She urged Musharraf to keep all the pledges he had made to the nation, including his promise to doff his military uniform and to hold polls on time.
PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said PPP MPs would be joined in the protest by parliamentarians of other parties.

The demonstration is aimed at demanding "the restoration of the constitution, the retirement of Gen Musharraf as army chief, holding of elections on schedule, the release of political prisoners and end of curbs on the press", he said.

The PPP wants the poll schedule to be announced on November 15, when the term of the national and provincial assemblies ends, and the election process to be completed on January 15, Babar said.

Musharraf today issued a formal notification for convening a session of the National Assembly at 5 pm tomorrow.

All public gatherings and political meetings have been banned under the emergency. Hundreds of opposition political leaders and activist, lawyers and rights activists have been arrested since Sunday as part of a crackdown launched by the government.

Source : PTI