QUETTA, July 22: The Muttahida Majlis Amal took out a procession after Friday prayers in protest against raids on madressahs and arrest of ulema. The protesters marched from the Jamia mosque on the Shara-i-Iqbal and Shara-i-Adalat, raising slogans against the police action and demanded end to the raids and detention of ulema and students of religious institutions.

MNAs Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari and Maulana Noor Mohammad, Senator Kamran Murtaza and other MMA leaders, in their speeches, alleged that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had launched a crackdown on innocent people to appease the United States and the West.

They criticized police for injuring girl students of a madressah in Islamabad.

They rejected charges levelled by the US and Britain that terrorists were trained in the madressahs.

They asserted after completion of their studies in the institutions the ulema played a vital role in promoting Islamic brotherhood and pinpointing the social evils in the society.

They said the madressahs and ulema had rendered sacrifices and struggled peacefully in the freedom movement against the British rule.

They alleged that the US and British governments were involved in the bomb blasts.