KARACHI: Fair polls under Musharraf not possible: MMA
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 13: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader Syed Munawwar Hasan, who is also Secretary General of the Jamaat-i-Islami, said on Sunday that for the first time in the history of the country, lawyers’ associations, political parties and civil society all stood united for the supremacy of judiciary and the rule of law.
He was speaking after the funeral prayers for the two activists of the Islami Jamiat Tulaba who were killed during the Saturday violence in Karachi.
He said the exemplary show of unity was not the expression of favour or opposition to any individual but was aimed only at ensuring supremacy of judiciary as an institution. In this struggle, he said, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had become a symbol of justice and fairplay.
On the occasion, he said the martyrdom of the IJT activists, Faisal Tariq and Shuja-ur-Rehman, had given a new impetus to the movement for justice and Islamic revolution.
Holding the government and the MQM responsible for the Saturday violence in Karachi, Mr Hasan said that all opposition parties and groups, including MMA, ARD, Ponam and Tehrik-i-Insaaf, were of the concerted opinion that justice could not be established and free, fair and transparent elections were not possible until Gen Pervez Musharraf was out of power.
The MMA leader regretted that the CJ, who intended to visit Karachi to address lawyers and attend their various programmes was not allowed to enter the city and, instead, was made to wait for nine hours at the airport only to be told to turn back. He also condemned the government agencies’ alleged attempt to kidnap him.
Demanding an apology from Gen Pervez Musharraf to the nation for the treatment meted out to the CJ, he said the CJ would be invited again by people of Karachi to visit the city soon.
He said people of Karachi were not alone in their struggle against repression, state-sponsored terrorism and the sheer violation of the law and constitution, but the entire nation was with them.
