LAHORE, March 16: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, a coalition of religious parties, will contest the October elections even if no interim government is set up, MMA chairman Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani said on Saturday after a meeting with Jamaat-i-Islami amir Qazi Husain Ahmad.

Talking to Dawn at the residence of JUP leader Pir Ijaz Hashmi, he said the MMA did not want to give the government any pretext to postpone the elections. He believed that other parties, too, should take care not to allow the rulers to wriggle out of its commitment to hold the elections in accordance with the undertaking given to the Supreme Court.

The MMA, Maulana Noorani said, had already set up a committee to prepare a manifesto for the alliance. Another committee, he said, was working under the leadership of JI naib amir Liaquat Baloch to establish contact with other parties.

He said the government would not be in a position to rig the elections on a large scale in the presence of European Union and Commonwealth observers. If the rulers still tried to manipulate the elections, he said, a 1977-like situation could emerge.

In 1977, the opposition Pakistan National Alliance, had rejected the election results and launched an agitation campaign which led to the government’s ouster.

Maulana Noorani said the MMA wanted the restoration of the unanimously approved 1973 constitution. It would be willing to cooperate with other parties having a similar manifesto. The constitution, he said, enjoyed the confidence of all parties — nationalist, regional, religious and others — and must be upheld at all costs.

In his opinion the MMA could join hands with the Pakistan Muslim League factions, the Millat Party, and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf.

Replying to a question, Maulana Noorani said the military regime wanted to amend the constitution to meet its own interests but political parties could thwart the bid in the parliament. Every amendment made by Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said, would remain in force only in the absence of a parliament. Once the bicameral legislature was elected, it would scrutinize every amendment and those rejected by it would automatically lose their validity.

The JUP president said if Gen Pervez Musharraf linked transfer of power to the approval of his package of constitutional amendments, the country might face a serious deadlock. He said a confrontation between the people and the army would not be in national interest.

He insisted that Gen Musharraf had no right to amend the constitution, notwithstanding the Supreme Court verdict on the subject.

Replying to a question, he said the country had seen the consequences of giving absolute powers to the prime minister or the president. The question of striking a balance in the powers of the head of state and the head of government should now be left to the elected parliament.

Maulana Noorani demanded audit of the financial assistance various NGOs were receiving from foreign countries. He alleged that money was being pumped through the NGOs to secularize the constitution.

He recalled that the US Congress had adopted a resolution calling for repeal of blasphemy laws and the amendment declaring Qadianis a non-Muslim community. The countries that wanted such legislation in Pakistan were using the NGOs. Thus, he said, it was imperative that the government should monitor the NGOs funds.

Regarding the demand that funds received by religious seminaries should also be subject to a similar scrutiny, Maulana Noorani said these institutions were getting funds from overseas Pakistanis. As such, he said, there was no need for their scrutiny.

He questioned the government’s claims that foreign exchange reserves had shot up to $5 billion, saying they were not proceeds from exports or any steps taken by the government. “Charity” received in lieu of Pakistan’s role against Afghanistan should not be treated as a component of foreign exchange reserves, the MMA chief said.

He expressed disappointment over the economic performance of the military government and alleged that it had failed to solve the problems. He said utility bills had risen beyond the common man’s reach and the people, particularly low income people, were finding it increasingly hard to make both ends meet.

He feared that the situation would aggravate with the proposed withdrawal of subsidy on gas.

A press release issued here on Saturday said an important meeting of heads of MMA parties will be held in Islamabad in the first week of April. The meeting will approve the MMA manifesto, constitute federal and provincial parliamentary boards and take a decision regarding the launching of a mass contact drive.

Meanwhile, the central Shoora and Executive Committee of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan will meet here on Sunday to discuss the current political situation, anti-Muslim riots in India and the forthcoming polls.