HYDERABAD, Sept 5: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) chairman Allama Shah Ahmad Noorani has said the basic cause of lawlessness, bloodshed, ethnic and sectarian violence and murders in the country is illiteracy.

He added the objective of the MMA was to restore books in the hands of people who had been given kalashnikovs.

He was speaking at a news conference at the Madressa Ruknul Islam, Hirabad, here on Thursday,

He said it was for the first time that religious parties of country were contesting election under one flag and on one symbol.

Noorani said Karachi and Hyderabad were symbols of peace but unfortunately terrorists had converted these cities into centres of terrorism.

He said the MMA was the first party which finalized the list of its candidates and announced its programme on Aug 22.

The MMA leader termed the prevailing situation in the country extremely dangerous.

He said terrorism, lawlessness and price-hike had made the people’s lives miserable.

He maintained economic policies of the government had failed and added that seven million people were running for jobs and thousands of industrial units had been closed.

He said the MMA had left certain National Assembly seats open as it could not find suitable candidates. About the external threats, Noorani said India had amassed tens of thousands of soldiers on the borders and 15,000 American soldiers were operating within Pakistan.

He said Karachi, Shahbaz and Shamsi airports had become permanent American bases and FBI agents were violating the norms and values and trespassing into homes with impunity.

The MMA chief said so-called welfare organizations — NGOs — were receiving millions of dollars from Christians and Jewish lobbies to destroy the Islamic identity of the country. The next target of these lobbies would be the nuclear installations of the country, he said.

Noorani said the MMA was determined to defend the honour of the country and protect its integrity and solidarity by eliminating the American influence.

Answering a question about the constitutional amendments, he said parliament alone could amend the Constitution.

He refused to accept Gen Musharraf’s argument that he was authorized by the apex court to amend the Constitution and said the Supreme Court had only allowed minor amendments to facilitate the day-to-day working of the government and not to distort the entire Constitution.

He wondered why these amendments had become so necessary now when no amendments were made to the Constitution during the past two and a half years.

To a question about the National Accountability Bureau, which had announced it was prepared to bargain with Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, the MMA chief said it was not a an accountability bureau but a bargaining bureau.

About the provincial autonomy, the MMA chief said under the 1973 Constitution it was envisaged that the concurrent list would be transferred to the provinces within ten years but this was not done.

He said it was not the business of the federal government to distribute provincial lands.

About the NFC award, Noorani said the population criterion was necessary but the revenue generated by different provinces should also be kept in mind at the time of announcing the award.

Answering a question about dams, he said a commission, comprising chief engineers of the irrigation departments of the provinces and one high court judge from each province, should be appointed to resolve disputes in this regard. He said a Supreme Court judge should be the chairman of the commission.

He further said the provinces must be given royalty for their natural resources.