KARACHI, March 18: Claiming that his party alone held the key to the country's salvation, progress and prosperity, the founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain, on Thursday vowed to oppose theocracy tooth and nail and criticized the MMA for crticizing the US for operation in the tribal areas.

He was addressing on phone the 20th founding day meeting of the party in Azizabad and elsewhere in the country and said this was an "absolute reality." He said that the MQM represented 98 per cent of the downtrodden and oppressed people of the country and promised to remain steadfast in his struggle for uprooting the exploitative feudal system represented by only two per cent of the population.

The MQM chief said the world had drastically changed after 9/11 and it demanded each Pakistani to act with farsightedness and not be driven by emotions.

Mr Hussain challenged the MMA to answer as to why it had kept quiet during the 1992 military operation against the MQM and at the army's firing on innocent people in the interior of Sindh

He said the MQM was not only a progressive party but "also represents true picture of Islam." Our party follows the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) who had time and again condemned repression of slaves, poor and have-nots," he said.

"The MQM too believes in giving freedom to women in keeping with the true spirit of Islam while these religious leaders are driving the country towards the brink of disaster.

In sharp contrast to their utterances they are sending their daughters and wives in the assemblies to sit with the male members of parliament," Mr Hussain said. He criticized the MMA particularly for the "hue and cry" on the army operation in South Waziristan.

He said he had sympathy with the innocent people killed in Wana but he kept asking. "Why these so-called religious leaders not raised their voices in earlier military operations in Sindh and Balochistan?" "MQM too will have to take stock of itself and learn from its mistakes," he said.