LAHORE, Jan 15: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) is an opposition alliance, which has changed the Pakistan's political culture from agitation and provocation to settlement of issues through dialogue, reason and argument, says Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The MMA Secretary-General was addressing a Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) meeting at Alhamra hall held here on Thursday for condoling the death of Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani. Alliance's acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmad was in the chair. Fazl said by entering into an agreement with the government on the LFO and supporting the 17th amendment, the MMA had not become a government ally. "We continue to be the main opposition group in the parliament and will oppose the government policies which would be against the national interest," he declared.

He said all the opposition parties that had supported the late Z.A. Bhutto and approved the constitution bill in 1973 had also not ceased to be the opposition in the parliament because of their support. He said that the MMA had worked not for power but in the greater national interest to resolve the crisis on the LFO.

The JUI chief severely criticized the army action in tribal belt of the NWFP and said that over 70,000 army troops had been deployed on the western borders. He said that as many as 36 helicopters in a tribal area had been used to catch two alleged terrorists. He said that the Pakhtoons had been removed from the tribal belt of Afghanistan and now the same process of elimination had been started on the Pakistan side of the belt.

"We know that tribal areas' peculiar and dangerous situation. They are on the tip of gunpowder hillock. The government must act with patience and tolerance in dealing with the tribal people." He regretted that the government had lost patience and said: "The government is adding to the fire while MMA is putting it off." He warned that if MMA declared to fight against the operation the government would not stay for more than a few days and the entire area would turn into a battle field."

He said that the NWFP governor had given an assurance to the tribal people that the alleged terrorists would not be handed over to America. No body accepted his assurance because the government had betrayed the Taliban when it took U-turn against them after supporting them for a long period. Paying tributes to MMA and JUP president Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Qazi Hussain Ahmad said that Maulana Noorani was a great political leader who had devoted his life to the establishment of democracy and dissemination the message of Islam to the world.

He said that the Islamabad Declaration passed by the six parties of the MMA at the time of its formation had demanded that the recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology for enforcement of Islam in the country should be implemented as all sects of Islam had approved them. The second main point of the declaration was that all political decisions would be taken with consensus. He said that since the formation of the MMA it had been taking all of its political decisions with consensus, which was the main proof of its unity.

He said that Maulana Sajid Naqvi had been arrested by the government on the charge of the involvement in the murder of Maulana Azam Tariq. There was a demand that Naqvi party, Tehrik Jafaria should be expelled from the MMA but Maulana Noorani who declared that no party would be expelled vehemently opposed it and that MMA unity would be maintained. He said that MMA had come to stay. He asked the people to support the MMA against the feudals and capitalists.

The JUP secretary general K.M. Azhar said that Maulana Noorani was a popular political leader and all parties had reposed great confidence in his leadership. Other speakers who paid tributes to Maulana Noorani included JUP leaders Pir Ijaz Ahmad Hashmi, Qari Muhammad Zawwar Bahadur, Mufti Muhammad Khan Qadri, Maulana Sarfraz Ahmad Naeemi, Malik Bashir Ahmad Nizami, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Hashmi, JI leader Mian Maqsood Ahmad and Shia leader Shabbir Ahmad Naqvi.