13 locals were killed in Bajaur; Fazl refutes govt claim
By S. Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Jan 25: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman has refuted President Musharraf’s statement suggesting that foreigners were killed in the Bajaur attack. He claimed that 13 locals had been killed in the US attack. Some government officials had told the locals of Damadola that they had to show 18 deaths in the attack, though only 13 had died, Fazlur Rehman informed newsmen after a press conference held at the conclusion of the second convention of the Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris Dinya Pakistan at the Jamia Binoria.
He said the president’s remarks contradicted with comments made by the prime minister in the US that no foreigner had been killed in the attack.
Earlier, speaking at the convention, he said the decision to expel foreign students from seminaries was cruel and injust.
He said that after the occupation of the subcontinent, the first thing the British did was to launch a drive to change the local educational system. The US rulers were following suit, he said.
He dispelled on impression of being friendly with the government. “We are not sailing in Musharraf’s boat.”
The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) was opposed to the policies of the government and had its own agenda and vision on the national and international issues.
The opposition leader vowed that the MMA would continue to strive for its objective. He announced an unconditional cooperation of the MMA to the Ittehad Tanzeemat-i-Madaris, saying that it should take decisions and the MMA would help implement them.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the University Grants Commission had recognized the Shahabad Alameda degree equivalent to the MA degree for academic purposes. Academic purpose included showing that the degree holder was a literate person. In this regard, there was no reason to oppose religious degrees of the elected representatives, he argued.
Speaking at the convention, MMA president and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed alleged that all steps and conspiracies against religious schools were related to ‘the American cause’.
Launching of a massive protest drive, he said, had become inevitable to foil the conspiracies against the seminaries and safeguard the Islamic status of country.
He said that according to the international laws, everyone had right to freedom of expression and the religious schools could not be robbed of that right.
The MMA president accused the US of attacking the physical and ideological boundaries of Pakistan. The government, by stopping opposition leaders to visit the Bajaur Agency and offering condolence to the bereaved families, had given a message that they wanted to create no-go areas in the country, he alleged.
Other speakers, including Maulana Saleemullah Khan, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, Dr Abdul Razzaq Askander, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Naeem, Mufti Muhammad Rafi Usmani, Sarfraz Naeemi, Mufti Jameel Naeemi and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, also bitterly criticized the decision to expel the foreign students.
Online adds: Calling for an end to military action in Balochistan, the opposition leader proposed constitution of a sub-committee of parliament with a sizable representation of the Balochistan Assembly to deal with the simmering crisis.
Maulana Fazl observed that the military operation in Balochistan was detrimental to the national solidarity and integrity. “Political dialogue is the only solution to this or any other issue. Therefore, the government must stop this operation immediately, and resolve the issue through talks.”
The opposition leader said the recent US visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would serve only Washington interests.
He said the ‘humiliating’ body search of the prime minister’s delegation, including the federal ministers, had exposed the success of the visit and Pakistan-US friendship.
In reply to a question, the Maulana said the announcement for the construction of Bhasha dam before Kalabagh dam had reduced tension temporarily; however, the crisis was looming large.
