November 25, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 29, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Nov 24: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s (MMA) parliamentary leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said the religious alliance is not going to budge on its stand because during the last one year, parliament had no powers and one-man rule remained effective in the country.

“This is simply not acceptable,” said the MMA leader while replying to a question during a press talk at Al-Zarghuni mosque here on Sunday.

Qazi Hussain, who is also Jamaat-i-Islami chief, reiterated that the alliance would launch a country-wide protest movement on Dec 18, if the government did not table a constitutional amendment bill before the National Assembly by Dec 17.

Asked about the MMA leadership’s talks with Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali on Saturday night at Peshawar, the Jamaat chief said the LFO issue did not come under discussion.

“The opposition’s stand (on the Legal Framework Order) is clear and will not undergo any change,” said the MMA’s parliamentary leader.

MMA’s president Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani was also present on the occasion.

Answering a series of questions by a group of newsmen following his son’s Nikah here on Sunday, the Jamaat chief justified the joint opposition’s stand against the government and over the LFO issue.

A day earlier here speaking at an official function, the prime minister had renewed his government’s offer to the MMA over the LFO issue, expressing the hope that after reaching a “genuine understanding” as a result of the next phase of talks between the two sides, a breakthrough would be achieved in the near future (on the LFO issue).

In reply to a question, he said opposition parties would decide a final line of action against the government after Eid.