SIALKOT, March 3: Jamaat-i-Islami amir Qazi Husain Ahmad has described the Quetta tragedy on the Youm-i-Ashur as a conspiracy against country. Speaking at a news conference here on Wednesday evening, he condemned the incident, also urging the Muslims to face this conspiracy and other challenges with courage.

He believed that the Quetta killings were not an incident of sectarian violence, but there must be foreign hand behind this tragedy. He also demanded an inquiry into the incident.

The Qazi, who is also the MMA's acting president, also lashed the killings of people during the army operation in Wana (South Waziristan). He said Rs100,000 compensation announced by the government for the heirs of the deceased was no more than a joke with the aggrieved families.

He accused the rulers of damaging the national interests and compromising on the Kashmir "just to please the US and its allies." He asked the government to quit his army chief's post and take up all the matters of national interests and foreign policies in parliament.

The JI amir also condemned, what he said, the denial of the government advertisements to a national daily. He demanded the immediate release of Allama Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi, urging the government to arrest the actual killers of Mualana Azam Tariq.

The MMA, he said, had prepared a new political strategy to meet the national challenges. This new strategy would be disclosed by the MMA at its meeting in Islamabad tomorrow (Friday).

He said he had visited Sialkot to inquire after Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadith Pakistan leader Allama Sajid Mir. He also discussed the new political strategy with Allama Sajid, who was unlikely to attend the meeting.