DUBAI, May 22: Amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Thursday criticised the government, saying that the parliament was powerless and even the prime minister of the country had “no powers at all.”

The JI chief, while speaking at a luncheon organised by the Pakistani community here, said: “Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has no powers at all (to decide on matters like) the country’s internal affairs or foreign policy matters,” adding that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal would not “join” the government.

Mr Hussain made a short stopover here while en route to Pakistan from Iran, where he had gone to attend the birth anniversary celebrations of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The JI leader, while stressing the need for a “respectable democratic system in the country, was quoted as saying in a Dubai-based newspaper that the alliance would not join the government but would try to keep the government on the “right track.”

Criticizing President Gen Pervez Musharraf for, according to him, not accepting the election results, Mr Hussain blamed him for being responsible for the current crisis, the JI leader said that he (Gen Musharraf) had not restored the Constitution, the Parliament had no powers and that he (Gen Musharraf) was not willing to remove his uniform.

Referring to the Legal Framework Order (LFO), he said that it would leave an adverse impact on the national institutions, saying while the national media had highlighted the issue, it had failed to give an assessment regarding its actual effects on the country.

Expressing the willingness to forge unity, he underscored the need for consensus, saying that the alliance wanted political stability in the country.

On the issue of sectarian harmony, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that the Shia and the Sunni segments in Iraq had been inspired by the cohesion of the MMA in Pakistan.

Talking about the prospects of the dialogue between Pakistan and India, the JI leader was not so hopeful about the outcome of the dialogue between the two countries, saying that if India did not change its stand on the Kashmir issue, there was less likelihood of a positive outcome of the talks.

India, he said, should accept Kashmir as being a disputed territory prior to the start of talks, adding that Pakistan would never accept India’s superiority in the region.

The luncheon was also attended by senior officials of the Pakistani mission in Dubai.