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| 11 December 2004 | Saturday | 28 Shawwal 1425 |
MMA, ARD to mount pressure on Musharraf
LAHORE, Dec 10: The Supreme Council of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal is scheduled to meet in Lahore on Sunday (Dec 12) to assess the impact of its two public meetings held in Karachi and Multan
and decide the six-party coalition's future course of action.
The same day the religious alliance is holding a public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan to mount pressure on President Musharraf to give up his army post by the end of the month.
According to ARD Secretary General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, the following day (Monday) heads of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy will be meeting in Muzaffarabad to discuss the political situation in the country and devise a strategy to pressure Gen Musharraf to quit since a serving general is not qualified to become the head of state.
MMA sources hope that the public meeting to be held at the Minar-i-Pakistan would be fairly well-attended. MMA President Qazi Husain Ahmed on Friday directed his party supporters to participate in the Lahore public meeting in large numbers so that a strong message could be sent to the military ruler that the electorate did not like the "pro-US policies" he was pursuing.
The turnout at the meeting, he said, would also mean that the people did not like Gen Musharraf to stay in his uniform any more. Although President Musharraf has repeatedly said that he will retain both offices till 2007, the religious alliance sources, hoping against hope, say that the general may change his mind at the eleventh hour and quit as army chief by the end of the month.
The MMA sources say that Gen Musharraf may be pressured by his own institution to part with his uniform in the larger interest of the country. They said it was difficult for anyone to predict what the situation would be in case Gen Musharraf did not hang up his uniform by the deadline set for the purpose.
The MMA thinks that the impact of its public meetings would be visible by Dec 19, the day when the Islamic alliance will hold its public meeting in Rawalpindi. In case Gen Musharraf did not honour his commitment made through the 17th amendment, the MMA would continue its struggle against him, an important leader said.
On the other hand, ARD Secretary General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra told Dawn on Friday that he was trying to arrange a meeting of the leaders of the two alliances to discuss modalities of cooperation.
He said the ARD wanted the MMA, the Awami National Party, the Pakistan Oppressed Nations' Movement and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf to join hands against Gen Musharraf.
Mr Jhagra hoped that the ARD and the MMA would cooperate with each other at the local level. He said the possibility of launching a movement from the same platform would be looked into subsequently.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan is also trying to bring the two alliances closer. He is of the opinion that differences between the opposition parties would only benefit the military ruler. Once an ardent supporter of Gen Musharraf, the cricketer-turned-politician turned against him when he failed to implement his seven-point agenda.
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