HYDERABAD, Dec 3: Demanding that a caretaker government be set up to hold general elections in 2007, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan urged the opposition parties to launch a joint struggle for an independent election commission.

Talking to newsmen at a local hotel after leading a rally in connection with his anti-government movement in the city after his arrival from Karachi on Sunday, he said that pre-poll rigging had already begun which was quite evident in the president's address urging the army and general public to support ruling PML. “Free elections were not possible under President Musharraf,” he said and called upon Musharraf to quit.

Condemning the government's attitude towards his party for not allowing him to hold a public meeting in Hyderabad and Karachi, he said that similar treatment was meted out to PTI in the Punjab.

The PTI chief said that his party’s movement was aimed at exposing government which was all set to stage a farce in the name of elections.

“The experience of last year's local bodies and 2002 general elections is for everyone to see. It is an admitted fact that the present ruling clique cannot win elections without rigging,” he remarked.

Mr Khan said that it was need of the hour that the opposition should mobilise people to raise voice for an independent and powerful election commission to ensure fair polls.

He said that such a movement was essential for the country because even PPP had conceded that free and fair elections were impossible under Musharraf-led government.

He said that he was going to London to meet Nawaz Sharif and asked Qazi Hussain Ahmed to mobilise ARD and MMA for the movement.

He was optimistic that some positive outcome would come out in the days to come and people would see a real opposition in the country. “Such a movement must lead to resignations by ARD and MMA to become a real opposition,” he said.

About PPP's overtures to the government and vice versa ahead of next general elections while simultaneously playing the role of opposition, he said that soon it would be clear as to which party was striking a deal with the government and if the opposition failed to sort out its differences, it would enable Gen Pervez Musharraf to become Husni Mubarak of Pakistan.

“As part of such an agitation opposition parties should tender their resignations en bloc and then mobilise people for free elections,” argued the PTI head.

He said that although no meeting was planned with Benazir Bhutto but it could not be ruled out altogether and urged the opposition not to find lame excuses to remain divided because it would be tantamount to serving the purpose of government.

He underscored the need for a true democracy through a unified strategy and said that MMA must resign from the assemblies because “it was a dummy parliament”.

Opposing the Women’s Rights Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, he said that it was adopted just to appease the US and divide the opposition.