MMA now alternative govt, says Fazl: Fresh by-election under army supervision sought
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 25: The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has said that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal is now the alternative government of Pakistan
and if the present regime fails to provide good governance and relief to people, power should be handed over to the MMA.
He was addressing a public meeting on Tuesday night at the New MA Jinnah Road. The meeting was organized by the alliance to demand arrest of killers its nine activists during recently held by-elections in Karachi and to press for acceptance of its demands, including annulment of election results and the holding of fresh by-elections under the army supervision.
Maulana Fazl said that the May 12 by-polls witnessed naked vandalism and terrorism and the results were announced at gunpoint which were rejected by the people of Karachi who observed a peaceful shutter-down strike.
He declared that the MMA would work out a new strategy if the by-polls were not declared void and fresh and fair by-polls were not announced in a few days. "We would not allow terrorists to represent Karachi in parliament," he said.
Maulana Fazl, who is Secretary-General of the MMA and chief of Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (F), said that democracy could not be promoted through terrorism and vandalism.Referring to the recently-held general elections and the smooth transfer of power in India, he said it was a matter of shame that in Pakistan, the Election Commission and the Sindh provincial government were unable to hold peaceful elections even in four constituencies.
He said Gen Pervez Musharraf was worried about restoring peace and eradicating terrorism from the country. If he was sincere in promoting peace in the country, he said, President Musharraf instead of sending army to Wana and Waziristan to flush out terrorists, should have looked for terrorists elsewhere - into his cabinet and the Governor's House.
"You have no right to speak against terrorists when murderers and terrorists are part of your government and the cabinet." He said those who were advising Gen Musharraf not to take off his uniform were committing treason.
He said the MMA would play the role of a responsible opposition and as leader of the opposition he would work to end politics of hatred, enmity and the healthy politics of dignity and honour.
MMA's acing President Qazi Hussain Ahmad said that the MMA would provide the country the leadership to usher in an Islamic revolution in the country. "The MMA has inducted politics of love and fraternity by overcoming regional and sectarian prejudices," he said.
He said that the US was trying to change the education system in Pakistan so that country's youths were diverted from the righteous path. He demanded that the report of the NWFP education commission be implemented in the entire country. The MMA chief also called for lifting the ban an movement of wheat from Punjab to other provinces.
The meeting adopted two resolutions - one demanding withdrawal of US and allied forces from Iraq and the other calling for registration of cases against those nominated by heirs of the nine workers killed during the by-election.
Those who addressed the meeting included Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, Shah Faridul Haq, Allama Hassan Turabi, Asadullah Bhutto, Nasrullah Shaji, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti, Dr Mairajul Huda, Maulana Hameedullah, Yunous Barai, Hafiz Muhammad Naeem, Hafiz Muhammad Taqui and Rashid Naseem.
