September 30, 2003	Tuesday	Sha’aban 3, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: Pakistan said on Monday it was undeterred by calls attributed to Al Qaeda’s number two to overthrow President Gen Pervez Musharraf for allegedly betraying Islam.

“Pakistan is part of the war on terrorism and our pursuit of terrorists, Al Qaeda and their associates will continue despite these threats,” foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told a press briefing.

“This war has made Pakistan vulnerable... But we won’t be deterred.”

The calls attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri were made in tapes broadcast by Arab TV channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami also dismissed the calls as violent.

“We do not subscribe to Zawahiri’s or anyone else’s views,” JI senator Khurshid Ahmed told AFP.

“We have strong differences with Musharraf’s policies and are democratically trying to influence him to bring a change,” he said.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Fazlur Rehman also rejected the calls. “We don’t need guidelines from al-Zawahiri or any other leaders from outside,” he said.

An association representing 10,000 Madressahs in the country said the broadcast statement reflected the feelings of hardline Muslims.

“I can only say it’s a feeling of Mujahideen, whether they are in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq or any other country,” Mufti Mohammad Jamil, head of the Board of Islamic Schools, told AFP. “The Mujahideen hold Musharraf responsible for the fall of an Islamic government in Afghanistan, and that too in order to please an infidel power, the United States.”