July 16, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 19, 1427

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ABBOTTABAD, July 15: The leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has urged the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s statement issued after the CEC’s observation that the president could not run the election campaign of any political party.

Talking to journalists here on Saturday, he said that apparently there was a parliamentary form of governance in the country, but it was actually a presidential system and added that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had decided to resist the one-man rule and it would start a mass-contact movement from Monday with a protest rally in Attock.

In reply to a question that one of the MMA’s component parties was colleting resignations from its MNAs and MPAs, Maulana Fazl said that resignations only mattered when these were handed over to the NA speaker or Senate chairman.

Maulana Fazl, who heads Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and is secretary-general of the MMA, demanded that the CEC should be given more power in consultation with opposition parties so that he could act independently and said that government agencies’ alleged interference in the election process should be stopped.

Criticising the use of force in Balochistan and Waziristan, he emphasised that issues should be resolved through dialogue.

The maulana blamed agencies for the unrest in the country, especially the killing of religious leaders. He said a large number of people were in the custody of agencies and added that only a few days back a woman had requested him to help her trace the whereabouts of her two sons allegedly picked up by some agencies.

Lashing out at the United States, he said that by backing Israel President Bush was taking revenge on Muslims.