17 February 2004	Tuesday	25 Zilhaj 1424

PESHAWAR, Feb 16: Anti-democratic forces have turned the country into a military state, general secretary of the Pukhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party says. He said this while speaking at a press conference here on Monday.

Criticizing Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal for supporting the 17h Amendment, PMAP's general secretary Akram Shah said that parliament's passing of the amendment had strengthened the hands of the military establishment.

He said feared that the country would remain under a perpetual martial law after the passing of the constitutional amendment. He said that the MMA had dishonoured the people's mandate by supporting the amendment. He said that religious forces always helped military regimes to prolong their stay in the power corridor.

"The MMA's policies have undermined the future of democracy and the role of the Constitution", he added. Mr Akram Shah also criticised Islamabad's external policies, asking the government to stop meddling in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. He said that the PMAP supported good relations with the neighbouring countries, including Afghanistan and India.

He said that every regime had encouraged militants and sectarian groups, adding that was why Pakistan had become the center of terrorist organisations in the entire region. He said that the state had used militant groups to discourage democratic and nationalist forces and such policies had put the future of democracy at stake.