24 June 2004	Thursday	05 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

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ISLAMABAD, June 23: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) decided on Wednesday that Maulana Fazlur Rahman, the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani would not attend the National Security Council's inaugural meeting on Thursday.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of MMA's Supreme Council held in Islamabad with the one-point agenda of whether its representatives should attend the NSC meeting.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the alliance's secretary-general, told newsmen: "The MMA, after discussing the issue in detail, decided that the leader of opposition and the NWFP chief minister would not attend the June 24 NSC meeting."

He said the alliance of six religious parties regarded the NSC as a body parallel to parliament - which is the supreme body - and decided to make every effort to get repealed last April's act of parliament that created the 13-seat council headed by President Pervez Musharraf.

At Thursday's meeting, NSC secretary Tariq Aziz will give a resume of the objectives and rationale of the council while Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat will give a briefing on the country's law and order situation, official sources said.

Maulana Fazl said the MMA supreme council meeting, chaired by its acting president and parliamentary leader in the National Assembly, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, expressed its displeasure over 'misinterpretation' of its accord with the government on the 17th constitutional amendment.

The heads of five of the six constituent parties attended the meeting as Maulana Samiul Haq, who heads his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, continued his boycott of the supreme council. JUI-S member Qari Gul Rahman attended the meeting but did not represent his party.

"We will repeal the NSC Act when we will come into power," said Qazi Hussain, who described the NSC in its present shape as a supra-constitutional body that would remain a threat to democracy and democratic institutions.

He said the alliance was of the view that even if the NSC was considered as a body of 'utmost necessity,' it should be headed by the prime minister and the armed forces should be represented by the defence minister.

As long as General Musharraf does not leave the office of the Chief of Army Staff, he said, the democratic system would remain in danger. "The NSC Act should be brought back to parliament after the requirements of the 17th amendment were fulfilled in spirit," he said.

He said that while the NSC in India was an advisory body, Turkey was facing European Union's opposition to its entry into the 25-nation grouping due to its NSC which was regarded as a threat to democracy.

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