13 December 2004	Monday	30 Shawwal 1425

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LAHORE, Dec 12: The Muttahida Majli-i-Amal's supreme council has decided to evolve an alternative leadership to avoid the possibility of discontinuation of its drive against General Pervez Musharraf in case its top leaders are arrested.

The decision to continue the alliance's protest campaign to "its logical end" was taken by the MMA's high command at a meeting a few hours before the third of the alliance's anti-Musharraf gathering here on Sunday.

In this regard, elections to the MMA's provincial and district chapters will be held within a month. Polls to offices of the NWFP chapter will be held on Dec 27, Punjab on Dec 28, Sindh on Dec 29 and Balochistan on Jan 6.

Sources said that the council also reviewed the movement and decided to meet again on Dec 24. A JUI-F leader said that earlier the council was to meet on Dec 19 but the meeting was deferred to Dec 24 to allow the party hold its consultative body (Shura) meeting on Dec 20-21.

He said it was necessary to consult the Shura so that workers could be activated to respond to every call of the high command. The council also decided that if the forthcoming local body polls were held on party basis then MMA constituents would take part in the same from the platform of the alliance.

MMA's Deputy Secretary General Liaqat Baloch told Dawn that the meeting had, in principle, decided that after Dec 31, the religious alliance would neither help in extending Gen Musharraf's term as the army chief beyond Dec 31 nor would it strike a compromise on any constitutional matter.