LAHORE, July 6: The MMA along with other opposition parties will speed up the struggle for supremacy of parliament and restoration of the 1973 Constitution and will take it to its logical end so that no army dictator could dare circumvent the statute book in future.

This was stated by MMA president Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani while speaking at an all parties conference held here on Sunday.

He said Israel was an illegal state and Pakistan had been saying from the day one that it would not recognize it even if Arab states did so for it was not an Arab but a Muslim issue.

He said a dictator could not be authorized to recognize Jewish occupation of Al-Quds.

He alleged the government had bowed to the US pressure on nuclear and missiles programmes by reducing uranium enrichment level to 20 from 90 per cent. He termed it an attempt to disarm the country for making it subordinate to Indian and Israeli hegemony. He said there was only single roadmap for Kashmir and that was UN resolutions adopted in 1949. He feared that sending of troops to Iraq would result in hatred for Pakistanis among Arab people.

ARD president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said claims of power sharing had not truth as even today Gen Pervez Musharraf was invited for visits abroad and not the prime minister.

He said the Constitution did not allow any public servant to get appointment in a political/government setup. He said Gen Musharraf had strengthened his rule during the period given by the Supreme Court and then sacked the elected president only to take replace him.

“We have never accepted him as president and nor will do so in future.”

He regretted that Gen Musharraf was happy that President Bush had raised no objection to his uniform, the National Security Council and his powers to dissolve assemblies. He said Bush had not set a worthy example by supporting dictatorship in Pakistan.

About educational degrees of MPs, he said the Election Commission should be held responsible for declaring as valid the certificate issued by religious seminaries.

Jamaat-i-Islami amir and MMA vice-president Qazi Husain Ahmad said the incumbent government was controversial as Pervez Musharraf had forcibly become president.

He said even courts of the country had become controversial due to the LFO. He urged the need for fulfilling constitutional requirements and conceding to the sovereignty of parliament.

He criticized Gen Musharraf for visiting America alone and discussing sensitive issues like sending troops to Iraq, recognizing Israel and roadmap on Kashmir without taking the prime minister and parliament into confidence.

He alleged that terrorist activities in the country were being carried out to divert attention from real problems.

Referring to the Quetta killings, he said unfortunately the government was covering up its failure in the name of religious violence and terrorism.

MMA secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the Constitution would become controversial if the LFO was forcibly made part of it. The step would also hurt the national integrity, he warned.

Rejecting Gen Musharraf’s criticism of the NWFP government and the Shariat Bill, he said the assembly had unanimously reposed confidence in the NWFP chief minister while the bill had also been adopted unanimously.

He said the federal government owed Rs17 billion to the NWFP government and narrow-mindedness was being shown instead of lending a helping hand to solve problems of the province.

He said he had told a government’s emissary came to assure recognition of the status of Sanads if the MMA cooperated on uniform issue that they should oust them (MMA) from the parliament and abolish the NWFP government as early as possible, warning that Maulvis would be more dangerous outside the parliament.

Gen Hamid Gul (retired) said RAW had so far established 20 stations in Afghanistan while Israeli secret agency Mosad had also joined the former to impair relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He believed that country’s defence would fortify with the strengthening of democracy.

He said Musharraf should be asked about achievements on the seven-point agenda he had put before the nation in his speech on Nov 17, 1999.

PML-N’s Javed Hashmi said Gen Musharraf was a front man of adventurous generals and ISI high-ups. He suggested forming of a supreme council comprising participants in the APC to implement the decisions of the joint opposition.

He also suggested launching a train march and giving a deadline to rulers (for restoration of constitutional rule).

PPP’s Raja Pervez Ashraf said his party would stand by other opposition parties in their principled fight.

He said Gen Musharraf framed laws for keeping popular leadership out of the country.

Other speakers of the APC, which was conducted by Liaquat Baloch, included Prof Gafoor Ahmad, PML-Qayyum chief Khan Amanullah Khan, JUP’s Gen K M Azhar, Islamic Democratic Front’s Munir Gilani, Ahle Hadith party’s Abdul Qadir Khamosh, Mohajir Qaumi Movement’s Syed Abid Ali and Kamran Rizvi, PML-Chattha’s Rehana Mashhadi, Tehrik-i-Insaaf’s Mian Sajid Pervez Air Marshal Zulfikar (retired), AQP’s Syed Muhammad Mahdi and Tariq Gill, Hizb-i-Jihad’s Syed Nobahar Shah, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith’s Maulana Abdul Aziz and Haji Abdur Razzaq, PML-N’s Khwaja Saad Rafiq and Siddiqul Farooq, JUI-F’s Hafiz Husain Ahmad and Mufti Abrar Ahmad, JUI-S’s Maulana Samiul Haq, ARD’s Munir Ahmad Khan, religious seminaries representatives Dr Sarfraz Naeemi, Maulana Abdul Malik, Nusrat Ali Shahani and Qari Hanif Jallundhary, Islami Tehrik’s Allama Sibtain Kazmi, and Ahmad Saeed Kirmani, Hafiz Abdur Rahman Ansari, Irshad Ahmad Haqqani and others.