October 10, 2001	Wednesday	Rajab 22, 1422

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ISLAMABAD Oct 9: Senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League (LM) Ejazul Haq has called for immediate halt to the US raids on Afghanistan and asked the OIC and government of Pakistan to play their role in restoration of peace in Afghanistan.

Speaking at a news conference here on Tuesday he said, no amount of bombing and cruise missiles will help reduce tension or eliminate terrorism until efforts were made for resolving the issues which were cause of terrorism.

He said missile attacks were not a solution of the problem and instead these would aggravate the situation as their targets were Afghan civilians.

Mr Ejazul Haq appealed for opening of Pakistan-Afghan border to allow the Afghans who were fleeing their country due to US raids on civilian population.

He said the evidence so far provided to justify air raids on Afghanistan was not enough to indict anyone on ground of terrorism attacks. He said even Britain said that the evidence made available was not enough to indict Osama.

If punishing of Afghan people was aimed then the two days raids were “enough” and their extension would only add to the miseries of hapless poor people of Afghanistan, he said.

He said that his party had set up a special fund for providing humanitarian assistance to the new Afghan refugees and appointed Begum Neelofar Bakhtiar party’s women wing president to head the fund.

He said that he along-with the special fund chief will soon undertake a tour of the country to collect funds and other relief goods including quilts, beddings, clothes and other necessities of life for the Afghan refugees.

Ejazul Haq also appealed to president Gen. Pervez Musharraf to set up his own fund and invite the people to deposit donations to help the hapless Afghans.

Party’s secretary general Gohar Ayub Khan, women wing president Neelofar Bakhtiar, joint information secretary Azim Chaudhry and others were also present.