July 26, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 10, 1428

QUETTA, July 25: Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday criticised Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s resignation and said the central council of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had rejected the suggestion to resign from assemblies and, therefore, ‘that chapter was closed’.

He was addressing a press conference at the MPA Hostel here.

Maulana Fazl said he had met top leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami, including Prof Ghafoor Ahmed and Munawarul Hasan in Karachi, and sought their clarification over whether the Jamaat had joined the alliance as a party or had Qazi Hussain entered into an agreement in his personal capacity. He said that the party’s response was awaited.

The chief of the JUI-F said the army should withdraw from Waziristan and the peace agreement’s revival was vital for normalcy in disturbed areas.

Maulana Fazl clarified that the party believed in constitutional struggle and did not support militancy but Pakhtun traditions also did not allow anyone to refuse even a stranger from staying overnight at his home and the Zhob incident should be viewed in that context.

He said security agencies’ bid to arrest Abdullah Mehsud from the residence of a man who had been expelled by the party was aimed at harming the JUI-F’s reputation.

Rejecting US accusations about Al Qaeda’s regrouping and Taliban resurgence in tribal areas, he said from the beginning, the US government had opposed the agreement with tribal elders, adding that it wanted to directly intervene in tribal areas.

Maulana Fazl asserted that the All-Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) had rejected the use of force in Waziristan and Balochistan and termed the government’s foreign policy against national interest, adding that the movement favoured a ‘balanced and independent foreign policy’.

Terming the APDM’s formation a big success, he said that the new alliance would launch its anti-government campaign by holding a public meeting in Quetta on Aug 9.

He said his party had opposed the Lal Masjid administration but “we also reject the way the government had handled the issue. Similarly, the party condemns the security forces’ action in Waziristan besides denouncing the militants’ attacks on the army”.

The JUI-F chief was accompanied by the party’s secretary-general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari, MMA’s provincial chief Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani and senior minister Maulana Abdul Wasay.