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| 03 January 2004 | Saturday | 10 Ziqa'ad 1424 |
MMA achieved best possible deal: Qazi
ISLAMABAD Jan 2: President and parliamentary leader of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Qazi Hussain Ahmed has said that the country will continue to remain under the military rule as long as President Musharraf does not leave the office of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).
He demanded of the President to refrain from issuing policy statements like he gave about leaving aside UN resolutions on the Kashmir as it was the domain of the Jamali government. He also demanded of him (president) to immediately leave the COAS office to restore the "prestige" of the President's office.
Speaking at a news conference at his residence on Friday, Qazi said the MMA had reached the best possible compromise with the government which was not ideal but no better deal could have been achieved by any other party.
Flanked by MMA Deputy Secretary-General Liaqat Baloch, he said the deal would ultimately benefit the PPP and the PML-N for both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto would be able to make a comeback after President Musharraf relinquished his army uniform by the end of the year or earlier.
He appealed to the Opposition not to make the MMA its target of attacks for whatever it had done was in the "best interest of the nation." He said the president would not be able to dissolve assemblies despite having the lever of 58(2)b in presence of a vibrant opposition in the shape of the MMA.
The MMA, he said, after achieving the "success" in getting a deal on constitutional wrangling, would embark on a mass contact to press the government to accept its 17-point demands which were presented during the course of dialogue with government.
These demands include Islamization of society through implementation of Council of Islamic Ideology recommendations, declaring Friday as weekly holiday, foreign policy formulation according to country's ideological basis, giving rights to women in accordance with Islam, abolition of the Madrissah ordinance, easing restrictions on construction of mosques, repeal of the Industrial Relations Ordinance and withdrawal of the black law concerning dismissal of public servants etc.
The MMA, he said, had achieved the "success" by forcing the government to take the LFO to parliament and to get it passed by two-thirds majority and making it a point that no individual had the right to amend the Constitution.
Justifying his position vis-a-vis the LFO, he said he had threatened to resign from parliament in case the LFO was made part of the constitution without bringing it to parliament for debate and approval by two-thirds majority of the House.
He admitted that the acceptance of the vote of confidence to give president continuity in power was a bad compromise but one thing achieved in it was government's acceptance that referendum either was not a proper way of election of the president.
Keeping this in view, he said, the MMA had demanded of President Pervez Musharraf to immediately relinquish the office of the COAS to give his highest office prestige. He said after being given a vote of confidence by parliament the president should completely submit to the supremacy of parliament.
He claimed that the president would be morally bound to resign if the Supreme Court sets aside his decision of the dissolution of the Assembly. He, however, admitted that the insertion of the said Article was not a good deal and was accepted under coercion.
He said after the passage of 17th Amendment "we demand of the government to give fresh oath to the superior court judges under the revived 1973 Constitution."
Qazi said the MMA would meet in Karachi on Jan 18 to chalk out its strategy for launching a mass movement in the country to press the government for acceptance of it 17-point demands.
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