17 February 2004	Tuesday	25 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 16: Qazi Hussain Ahmad has accused the United States and other Western countries of conspiring to deny the Muslims an access to knowledge, especially in the areas of science and technology.

The acting chairman of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and chief of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) expressed these feelings in his speech at the 51st annual assembly of Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba, held on Monday at the Government College for Technology.

Mr Ahmad alleged that the country's rulers had mentally surrendered to the wishes of the oppressive powers which, he claimed, were afraid of the Muslims equipped with modern scientific knowledge and capabilities.

He was of the view that the Muslim Ummah was in dire straits because its rulers lacked the courage to say 'no' to these powers. Mr Ahmad also alleged that Gen Pervez Musharraf not only took U-turns on Afghanistan and Kashmir policies, but also supported the US in an attack on a neighbouring Muslim country.

Gen Musharraf had told the people that by doing so Pakistan had been saved and Pakistan's policies on Kashmir and nuclear programme had been provided protection.

He claimed that Gen Musharraf had not only abandoned Pakistan's principled stand on Kashmir, but also had forgotten his previous utterances about differentiating between Jihad and "terrorism". In order to satisfy the US, he was now humiliating the freedom fighters and trying to hunt them down.

Referring to Pakistan's nuclear programme, Mr Ahmad said the balance of power in South Asia had been achieved with the help of nuclear capability but the US was not prepared to allow the country to possess a deterrent. Why the Americans were not making any noises about the Indian nuclear programme?

He criticized Gen Musharraf for accepting the charges levelled against the Pakistanis by the US, despite the fact that North Korea, Iran and Libya had all denied those allegations. He particularly slammed the government for "forcing" Dr A.Q. Khan to make a confessional statement.

Mr Ahmad castigated the regime for "insulting" the nuclear scientists, in an effort to appease the US. He was also critical of the ARD for not supporting the MMA's strike call on the nuclear issue, which he claimed, revealed that the alliance and the authorities were united in their loyalty towards the United States.

Referring to the support MMA had extended to Gen Musharraf on LFO, he said that this step had been taken so that democracy could take root in the country. The general had also promised that he would take off his uniform on a given date. Qazi Hussain Ahmad also dispelled reports about disunity in the MMA's ranks and termed the same an exercise in disinformation.