LONDON, Nov 7: The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) led by its president Shahbaz Sharif staged a vociferous protest rally in front of the Pakistan High Commission building here on Wednesday.

The two-hour long rally about 300 people raised full throated slogans against President Pervez Musharraf and what they called his second martial law.

Later talking to the media, Mr Sharif demanded that the ‘martial law’ be rolled back, the judiciary reinstated as of Nov 2 and judges who had taken the oath under the PCO should be asked to reaffirm their allegiance to the original Constitution.

He criticised the judges who had taken the oath on the PCO.

He said that all political parties must participate in elections and a level-playing should be provided.

When asked about the status of his contacts with other parties to form a united front against Gen Musharraf, he said: “We are in touch with all the political parties. We are in touch with the APDM. We will soon create a platform to give the dictator a final push so that he disappears from the scene of Pakistan once and for all.”

Earlier, a seminar was organised in the House of Commons’ Committee Room by the All Party Parliamentary Group on The Third World to discuss the extraordinary situation in Pakistan.

The participants included Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham, Councillor Mushtaq Lasharie, Khalid Mahmood (MP) and a couple of senior journalists. Dave Anderson MP was in chair. All the speakers demanded immediate lifting of the emergency rule in Pakistan, release of all judges, lawyers and civil society representatives, end to rule by military general by Nov 15 and the holding of a fair, free and transparent election.

In another development, Hina Jilani of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Jemima Khan will lead protest rally organised by a group of students, lawyers and journalists opposite 10 Downing Street on Saturday.

The organisers, Taimur Rashid and Nadir Cheema, said the group planned to hold a number of protest events in London and other parts of the UK on almost daily basis.

Ms Jilani will hold a press conference on Thursday from the platform of the group at Brunei Gallery, School of African and Oriental Studies.

The group is organising a lecture on Friday at the London School of Economics.