March 6, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 2, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, March 5: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has termed government’s statements that Jamaat-i-Islami has links with Al Qaeda as failed propaganda.

The MMA leaders, including Dr Mohammad Kamal, Mohammad Abbas Butt, Mohammad Hanif Abbasi and Fayazul Hassan Chohan, said the government was engaged in maligning the JI by linking it with Al Qaeda.

They said this was being done to divert public’s attention from the pressing issues, which the country was confronted with, and also to hide its directionless policies.

They said the whole world knew that JI had no links with Al Qaeda and heard its name only after September 11 incident. Rather, the entire world heard this name from America after bombings on its installations, they added.

The MMA leaders said the government, in order to gain American favour, was including patients, disabled and medical practitioners, who served the injured, in the list of terrorists.

“The heroes and Mujahideen of yesterday are being treated as terrorists today. These people were trained and financed by the government, and now they are being subjected to humiliation and torture and are being handed over to foreign agents just to get a bounty of dollars from America,” they said.

The leaders said MMA’s successful anti-US march in Karachi had shaken the rulers and sent waves of terror into the government quarters. Despite the government’s negative propaganda, the March 9 march would be a success, they said.