September 29, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 21, 1423

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FAISALABAD, Sept 28: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal will resist attempts to rig the forthcoming general elections.

This was threatened by MMA chief Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani while speaking at an election meeting at Iqbal Park (Dhobi Ghat) on Friday night.

Mr Noorani said a countrywide movement would also be launched if the pro-government candidates were favoured in any way on polling day.

The MMA chief said the military rulers were implementing every order of the US and its allies just to prolong their rule and at the cost of Islamic values.

“The autonomy of the federation is in danger, which can be judged from the fact that no citizen or his guest is safe in Pakistan.

“Conspiracies are being hatched to make Pakistan a secular state but religious leaders and activists will not permit anyone to do so,” he said.

Jamaat-i-Islami Amir and MMA central leader Qazi Husain Ahmad said that law enforcement agencies were monitoring the activities of religious and political leaders. As a result, dacoities, robberies, thefts, murders and other heinous crimes had been on the rise.

“The Musharraf government has miserably failed on all fronts but the rulers are befooling the masses by presenting wrong facts and figures through state controlled electronic media,” he said.

He said that attempts to rig the elections would not only create anarchy in the country but would also bring bad name to the rulers.

MMA vice-president Sajid Naqvi said the government has launched a vilification campaign against the religious leaders, madaris and religious institutions just to please its foreign masters.

He said that the government was patronizing anti-Islam forces in the guise of some foreign NGOs.

He claimed that the MMA would introduce a revolutionary programme after coming into power for the progress and prosperity of the country according to Islamic rules and regulations.

MMA’s local leaders and nominees for provincial and national assembly seats of the district also spoke.