04 April 2004	Sunday	13 Safar 1425

PESHAWAR, April 3: Jamaat-i-Islami general secretary Syed Munawar Hassan has accused President Gen Pervez Musharraf of facilitating George Bush's election campaign by launching a military action in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in the name of flushing out Al Qaeda elements.

"The operation in South Waziristan Agency has nothing to do with Al Qaeda, but to help George Walker Bush in the upcoming presidential elections," he said.

Speaking at a Jamaat-sponsored tribal jirga here at the Al Markaz-i-Islami on Saturday, he alleged that United States intelligence agencies had forced Gen Pervez Musharraf to engage troops in the tribal area to boost the popularity graph of President Bush in the election campaign.

Despite a massive campaign for the jirga, the number of participants from the tribal area remained very low and roughly 400 delegates attend the three day session. Organizers stated that about 2,000 delegates from seven agencies and six Frontier Regions were invited to attend the meeting.

Munawar Hassan criticized national and foreign policies of the federal government, adding that Gen Musharraf had pushed the Army into a quagmire by launching the operation in the region.