RAWALPINDI, Aug 16: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has asked President Gen Pervez Musharraf to run the government according to the Constitution or be ready to face a resistance movement.

The demand was contained in a declaration issued by MMA’s deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch here on Saturday.

Terming the prevailing political situation dangerous, the MMA leader said the government had failed to settle the constitutional crisis through dialogue.

He held the government responsible for the deadlock in the government-opposition talks, saying that such an stalemate in the political process was a dangerous development.

Mr Baloch asked the government to table the proposed constitutional amendment in parliament for its approval. According to him, depriving parliament of its powers and turning it into a rubber-stamp was like playing with the independence and security of the country.

He said the MMA would give one more chance to the government to resolve the issue through talks.

The Rawalpindi declaration asked Gen Musharraf not to approve international treaties without the approval of parliament. It was the government’s responsibility to create an environment conducive for a peaceful session of parliament, the declaration added.

The MMA leader opposed the proposed plan to send troops to Iraq and recognition of Israel and demanded an immediate end to the FBI activities in the country.

Liaquat Baloch also opposed any move on the part of the government to hand over the deep-sea port in Balochistan to any foreign country or turning it into a money-making enterprise for the army personnel. The rights of the people of Balochistan should not be ignored, he demanded.

The declaration also spoke about the exploitation of the poor, human rights violations and the prevailing social problems in the country.

“The life of the poor has been deteriorating day by day. There is a rising unemployment, regular price hikes, poor law and order situation and other such issues which have increased the problems of the common man manifold,” the MMA leader said.

But the government, instead of solving these problems, had its focus on how to gain time for the LFO through promises of talks and how best to serve the interests of the army rulers, he claimed.