PESHAWAR, Oct 2: Declaring President Pervez Musharraf 'security risk', Jamaat-i-Islami deputy chief Prof Ghafoor Ahmed on Saturday emphasized that his immediate removal from power was essential for the solidarity of the country.

Speaking on the second day of Jamaat's three-day congregation on Azakhel Park, Prof Ghafoor accused General Musharraf of mortgaging the country with the United States. He observed that the general was fighting a proxy war on Pakistan's soil in the name of terrorism.

Though rain and heavy winds had caused a mess in the tented venue on Friday night, the JI workers managed to restore the electricity supply to the park and re-erected shamianas by the morning. "That was not a new thing for us. We are accustomed to such things," said JI's Karachi information secretary Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Prof Ghafoor said the government had failed to solve even a single problem since Gen Musharraf assumed power four years ago. He regretted that the president had indicated in a recent interview that he was ready to make a retreat on the Kashmir policy.

He said a band of opportunists was working to pave the way for a permanent military rule in the country against the wishes of the masses who no longer wanted to see the 'dictator' in power.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and its like-minded parties, he announced, would launch an anti-Musharraf drive if he failed to shed the uniform by Dec 31, 2004.

JI secretary-general Syed Munawar Hassan said that Jamaat was a movement which was preparing people for bringing about an Islamic revolution in the country.

Another deputy chief of the Jamaat, Liaquat Baloch said military rulers had darkened the history of Pakistan. Every military dictator had trampled the constitution to prolong his unconstitutional and undemocratic stay in power, he added.

He said no institution, including the Supreme Court, could give a right to dictators to amend the constitution.

JI deputy chief Prof Mohammad Ibrahim criticized the government's policy on the South Waziristan problem and termed it a war against innocent tribesmen. He urged the government to stop punitive actions against the tribal people.

NWFP senior minister and JI provincial chief Sirajul Haq, Prof Abdur Rahim Ali (Sudan), Dr Abdul Haq Ansari (India), Dr Umar Behman (Bosnia), Dr Yasri (Malysia), Maulana Mohammad Yousuf (Bangladesh) and Ayatullah Ayazi (Iran) were other prominent speakers.