20 July 2004	Tuesday	02 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

NOWSHERA, July 19: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that a decision regarding his participation in the next meeting of the National Security Council would be taken by the MMA leadership.

He said that under Article 63A he was bound to follow the party discipline and guideline, adding that violation of the party decisions was equal to violation of the constitution.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a free medical camp and children academy organized by the Ummah Welfare Trust here on Tuesday. The chief minister said that the NSC had come into being through an act of parliament, but the constitution was more important and he would uphold the constitution.

Any decision taken by the party leadership in accordance with the MMA manifesto and the constitution of Pakistan would be acceptable to him, he said. He said that Islam is a religion of peace which guarantees the rights of human beings without any discrimination.

He said that the western media had unleashed a relentless propaganda against Islam to malign the religious parties' alliance. He said that Islam was the only religion which guaranteed the rights of women and minorities. About the proposed Hisba bill, the chief minister said that every provision of the proposed law was according to the provisions of the constitution.