LAHORE, Jan 3: Hafiz Hussain Ahmad of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam threatened on Friday that if the government supported the US attack on Iraq, as it had done in case of Afghanistan, the Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) would launch a civil disobedience movement in the country.

He was addressing an MMA rally against a possible US attack on Iraq. In a civil disobedience movement, no US interest in Pakistan would be safe, whether it was its consulates or its citizens, he warned.

“Even before the attack on Afghanistan, we maintained that the US concern was neither Osama bin Laden nor Mullah Umar, but the Ummat. The preparations for an attack on Iraq substantiate that claim. The world should rest assured that the next US target would be Iran, followed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan,” he added.

When the US attacked Afghanistan, Pakistan was ruled by a uniformed dictator, who had now been replaced by a civilian government. The government must convene the session of the National Assembly, thoroughly debate its options and hammer out a policy based on national interest.

If the US operation in the NWFP continued, he said, the results would be disastrous both for the Americans and Pakistan.

Liaqat Baloch of Jamaat-i-Islami also addressed the rally and claimed that the western philosophy had failed to unite humanity. US policies had created reactionaries like Osama bin Laden. The Americans were worried about one Osama, but there were thousands like him spread all over the globe. US policies were the root-cause of the problem, he maintained.

He also criticized what he called the impotence of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in the face of a possible attack on Iraq. The OIC must convene its session to adopt a unified policy to deal with the effects of a possible attack on a Muslim country.

Mr Baloch said Jihad was the most potent weapon against the forces of injustice, and the west was afraid of it. The Muslims would never abstain from Jihad, when necessary.

The MMA took out a procession to protest against the US. About 2,000 people joined it. The originally planned route from Nasir Bagh to the Governor’s House was not allowed by the administration. The procession ended at Nila Gunbad, Anarkali, after the leaders had made speeches.

DOUBLE STANDARDS: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan said in a press statement that if the US was not ready to take action against North Korea and Israel, it should not expect the world to support it against Iraq.