ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Acting parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has criticized Gen Pervez Musharraf for addressing public meetings in commando outfit and termed it a disgrace to the uniform.

Speaking at a news conference after his return from Saudi Arabia at the party's new central secretariat here on Friday, the senior PML-N leader said the whole world and the army was watching a general addressing public meetings of a political party in commando outfit in total violation of the Constitution.

The PML-N leader said every armyman took an oath that he would never indulge in politics whatsoever but Gen Musharraf had made the Constitution a mockery. He said there was no democracy in the country as an individual had made all the state institutions, including judiciary and army, hostage.

Mr Nisar said Gen Musharraf was ruling the country only because of the US support. "Gen Musharraf has put all his eggs in the US basket and has no interest in the internal affairs of the country."

He also condemned the regime for carrying out political victimization of the opposition members in the country. He said the ARD president, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, had been languishing in the jail only because of his struggle for the cause of democracy.

Mr Nisar held the Musharraf regime responsible for the unrest in various parts of the country from Wana to Balochistan. He said the language used by Gen Musharraf against the Baloch people reminded the people of the time when military rulers used same language for the people of East Pakistan. He said there was a conspiracy to disintegrate Balochistan from Pakistan.

The PML-N leader regretted that a US official had now openly stated that American forces were bombing Pakistani territory on the indication of Pakistani troops. He said the PML-N also wanted to have good relations with the US but on the basis of equality and not at the cost of self-respect.

He vowed to continue the struggle for the ouster of the regime. The PML-N will continue to oppose the present rulers even if it is left alone in the struggle, he added.

Mr Nisar, who was present in the meetings between MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and opposition leader in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rahman with party chief Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah, said soon the ARD and the MMA would come closer on a minimum one-point agenda of restoration of the Constitution.

He stated that Nawaz Sharif met the MMA leadership not as the PML-N chief but at the ARD platform. He said he was leaving for an official visit to the UK within couple of days and expressed the hope that the issues between the two alliances would be settled down soon after the ARD meeting on February 8.

Mr Nisar also criticized the Hajj arrangements by the Pakistan government and called for resignation of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ijazul Haq. He regretted that those responsible for the poor arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims had been included in the committee to probe the matter.

Replying to a question regarding the reports of the reconciliation efforts between the government and the PPP, he said they believed in the PPP leaders and not in the newspaper reports. He said the PPP leadership had assured them that they were not involved in any deal with the regime.