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Sanjay Suri India Abroad Correspondent in London
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the third largest political party in Pakistan has condemned Pakistan President General Musharraf's visit to India on the ground that he is not a democratically elected leader.
The MQM joins the Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League in condemning Musharraf's decision to take on the role of president.
"We are beginning to see a situation where a Pakistani dictator gets more acceptance from India than within Pakistan," a senior MQM leader told rediff.com.
The MQM has the backing of an overwhelming number of the 22 million Mohajirs in Pakistan. Mohajir, which literally means migrant, is the name given in Pakistan to Muslims who migrated from India after the Partition.
In a statement from London, MQM founder and leader Altaf Hussain said that political groups claiming to work for restoration of democracy in Pakistan "should tell the present military government that any meeting and dialogue with the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on different issues, including Kashmir, would lead to results only if the negotiation takes place with a democratically elected government."
In a message to leaders of political parties, including the PPP and PML (N), Altaf Hussain said that simply a boycott of the briefing regarding the visit of General Pervez Musharraf to India is not the solution.
He said, "It is in the larger interest of the country to ask the military government not only through meetings and press statements but also by starting a practical struggle, to hold general elections first and restore democracy."
Musharraf's decision to assume presidency is not only undemocratic, but "illegal and unconstitutional," the MQM leader added.
The strong opposition from the MQM comes when the Pakistani government has been issuing statements claiming the backing of several political leaders for talks with Prime Minister Vajpayee in July.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: The Indo-Pak Summit
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