26 January 2004	Monday	03 Zilhaj 1424

MANSEHRA, Jan 25: The leader of the opposition in the NWFP Assembly, Shahzada Mohammad Gustasap Khan, said on Sunday if the federal government did not take immediate notice of the deteriorating law and order situation in the NWFP , the province would face a total lawlessness and anarchy.

Speaking at a news conference at the Mansehra press club, he said under the rule of the MMA government, the way in which a mosque belonging to a particular sect had been demolished and the Holy Quran desecrated in Batagram was an example of intolerance and religious ex-tremism.

He said that on hearing the news about the desecration of the mosque one could not believe that this could happen during the tenure of the MMA-led government in the province which was making tall claims of the enforcement of Shariat.

But, he added, when the Ahl-i-Hadith leaders in a meeting with the opposition members in Peshawar showed the photographs of the desecrated mosque and the burnt copies of the Holy Quran, it was really painful that extremist elements could go even to such an extent.

He said even though the Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadith was a component of the MMA, the intolerance shown by the JUI-F workers in Batagram was reflective of their sectarian mindset that they did not spare anyone when there was a clash of their sectarian interests.

Prior to it, he went on to say, the MMA had been sidelining its smaller components like JUI-S and the JUP on political grounds but targeting one on sectarian grounds was a very dangerous phenomenon.

Shahzada Gustasap recalled that Islam safeguarded even the rights of minorities and guaranteed protection of their places of worship but it was an irony that those claiming themselves to be the champions of Islam had embarked on the agenda of desecrating the holy places of their opponents.

He said the proposed Hasba Act had nothing to do with the enforcement of Shariat but the MMA government in the province wanted to establish a parallel judicial system and to give unbridled powers to the clergymen for crushing their political and sectarian opponents.

He alleged that from day one, the MMA was pursuing the policy of double standards. It had been accusing the central government of hatching conspiracies against its government in the NWFP and sabotaging the process of enforcement of Shariat, Gustasap said, adding that later they entered into a deal with the central government on the issue of the LFO but abstained from the vote of confidence to President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

To a question, the opposition leader said NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah had done a lot for the uplift of the backward areas of the province.

He said provision of huge funds for the uplift of far-flung mountainous district of Kohistan, establishment of Hazara University in Dhodiyal Mansehra, establishment of Comsat University in Abbottabad for the promotion of IT education and establishment of Fata secretariat in the Governor House for the uplift of the tribal areas were his major achievements.