02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

MULTAN, March 1: Gen Musharraf should hand over power to the popular but exiled political leadership of the country if national security has any importance in his agenda.

This was asserted by Prof Sajid Mir, the chief of Markazi Jammiat Ahle Hadith, while speaking at a press conference here on Monday at the local press club. "The forced absence of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from the national political scene can prove perilous for the country," he added.

He said following the American agenda blindly could prove catastrophic for the country. He was of the view that the on-going military operation in Wana would give rise to the anti-army sentiments among the general public.

Criticizing the regime over its handling of the nuclear issue, he said it was ironical that the government had been defending former army chiefs Jehangir Karamat and Mirza Aslam Beg without debriefing them about their role in the nuclear proliferation.

He said Dr A Q Khan could not do single-handedly what he had confessed to in his nation-wide telecasted clemency plea. "All those who have role in the nuclear proliferation should be brought to the book," he stressed.

He said the meeting of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal convened to take decision on the controversial Legal Framework Order was incomplete as heads of all the component parties of the alliance could not turn up. He said he had opposed visible tilt of the alliance towards striking a deal with the government in the meeting.

"I had vetoed the draft of 17th amendment to the constitution but Hafiz Hussain Ahmed dittoed it without a consensus". He said a meeting of the heads of six component parties of the religio-political alliance should be called before convening its supreme council session.

MURDER: A man was shot dead over a trivial matter here in local Samanabad colony in the New Multan police station jurisdiction. It is learnt that Hafiz Fayyaz had often advised owner of a cattle pen, Muhammad Ramzan, against latter's practice of giving bath to his stock in the street but to no avail.

Both exchanged hot words on Monday morning over the issue which infuriated Ramzan who later on opened fire. Fayyaz succumbed to his injuries before any medical aid could be provided to him. New Multan police have registered a case against the absconding accused.