March 5, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 1, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 4: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the MMA nominee for the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, on Tuesday said all Muslim countries should restrain the US from implementing its nefarious designs and endangering the world peace.

Talking to reporters at the Parliament House, he expressed the confidence that the proposed protest rally in Rawalpindi on March 9 would be similar to the one successfully organized in Karachi against United States’ policies.

“We are expecting that about one million people will attend the rally,” he said.

Mr Rehman said the strong participation in the Karachi’s rally proved that the people of Pakistan had risen to the occasion and shown their farsightedness. The rally has also proved that the government policies on Iraq do not reflect the opinion of the people.

The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) has failed to come up to the expectation of the Muslim world, he said.

“No Muslim in the world is satisfied with the role of the OIC, which it should have played on this occasion,” the MMA leader said, adding that the interests of the Muslim world should be protected at all cost.

He expressed his regrets over the bitterness between the Saudi Arabia and Libya, saying it should be done away with as early as possible.

About the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, an alleged member of Al Qaeda, from the residence of Ahmed Qadoos in Rawalpindi, Mr Rehman said the raid was violation of the sanctity of home.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters at the Parliament House, JUI-F leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad said the government should clarify that on what grounds Khalid Sheikh had been arrested — whether on violating immigration laws, overstaying in Pakistan, or entering the country without visa.

He said Khalid Sheikh should have been produced before a local court, instead of being handed over to the US authorities in a way that bypassed legal procedures of the land.

Mr Ahmed asked the government to take the people into confidence on the issue.

Answering a question, he said the word Al Qaeda had been coined by the US just to check the increasing influence of Taliban. The real meaning of Al Qaeda, he said, was a “sitting room” or a “drawing room”.