PESHAWAR, Oct 31: Pakistan Muslim League (N) has endorsed the country-wide wheel jam strike call, given by Pakistan-Afghan Defence Council for November 9.

The decision was taken at the party central working committee meeting held here at the residence of central general secretary Seranjam Khan on Thursday. Presided over by the PML (N) acting president Javeed Hashmi, the central working committee meeting was attended by Raja Zafarul Haq, provincial president, Pir Sabir Shah, Zafer Iqbal Jehgra and other members.

Later briefing the journalists, Javeed Hashmi said that party had decided to fully participate in the wheel jam strike to be observed across the country against the government shift in Afghan policy.

He said that PML would work out its strategy regarding the November 9 strike call. He said that the strike was being observed to express solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and show no confidence over the government policies.

Hashmi said that a non-elected government had no legal and constitutional right to make such a far reaching decisions including the providing logistic and information facilities to America. The government policies, he said, totally disappointed the masses and the day-to-day protests and strikes affected life in the country.

Condemning the attacks on civilian population in Afghanistan by the US war planes, he urged President Bush to halt bombing on civilians and safe the war-shattered Afghanistan from further destruction.

Hashmi said that United Nations had failed to safeguard the rights and interests of the Muslim world. The world body needed re-structuring, he maintained, adding to give permanent seat to Islamic world in the UN Security Council.

Our Nowshera correspondent adds: Maulana Samiul Haq, chairman Afghanistan Defence Council on Wednesday said that the countrywide wheel jam strike on November 9 would be the first step towards civil disobedience in Pakistan.

Samiul Haq, who also heads his own faction of Jamiat Ulema Islam, told a gathering at Jamia Islamia, Azakhel that Gen. Musharraf had been blinded by his pursuit to secure his rule and please the Americans. He said that even by Musharraf’s own statement that the religious parties enjoyed 15 per cent of the public support made them 30 million of the total population. He claimed that Musharraf had 600,000 Jawans and among them 95 per cent opposed his policy.

He said that Musharraf had done one good thing and that was to compel ulema from various schools of thought agree on the single point of Jihad. He said that the whole nation supported Afghanistan and the Taliban and were instilled with the spirit of Jihad. “Gen. Musharraf knows every thing.”

He said that the civil disobedience movement had begun and the wheel jam strike next month was the first phase. He said that the ulema council would meet on November 10 to chalk out future course of action and would give a call for a full fledged anti government movement soon after Eidul Fitr.

Samiul Haq said that the Americans were interested in taking over Pakistan’s nuclear assets but vowed that the ulema council would defend the nuclear programme till the last drop of their blood.