LAHORE, Oct. 24: The rulers, who call themselves democratic and elected representatives of people, must respect the resolution of a joint parliamentary session calling for a halt to military operation in the tribal areas and holding negotiations for a lasting peace, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) amir Qazi Husain Ahmad said at the opening of the annual congregation of the party on Minar-i-Pakistan lawns here on Friday.

“The rulers must respect people's mandate to abolish Gen Musharraf's policies and abandon the US-led coalition for the so-called war on terror, make independent policies according to masses' aspirations and restore the judiciary led by chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.”

Delegates from Asian and European countries are also attending the three-day gathering.

The JI leader said the Pakistan People’s Party government and President Asif Zardari should realise the Musharraf government had gone and people wanted pro-US policies terminated.

“They should take a similar U-turn from Musharraf's anti-people policies like the army general took one against the Taliban to join hands with the Americans.”

He said the government should realise if fighting against America was difficult, fighting against its own people was more difficult.

He said that unless the Muslims were not treated with justice, the whole world would continue to suffer from unrest.

“Justice is the key to establish world peace and there is no alternative to that.”

He praised party workers for arranging the venue for hundreds of thousands of people from across the country and world to renew their pledge for spreading the message of Islam and supporting each other in the face of conspiracies.

He said the peaceful congregation had proved that the Jamaat was a peace-loving party and its workers were not frustrated but ready to sacrifice everything for justice and peace. He asked the government to hold Musharraf accountable for his “crimes”, including killing of Jamia Hafsa students, handing over of innocent Pakistanis to America, and killing of millions of Afghans by supporting the US army in invading Afghanistan.

He asked President Zardari to retract his statement calling “Kashmiri mujahideen terrorists”. He said Islamabad should reassure the Palestinians that Pakistan supported their freedom struggle wholeheartedly.

He asked the elite, especially the president, the prime minister, cabinet members and big landlords and industrialists, to bring their capital from abroad to Pakistan to overcome the economic crisis.

He said unless the independent judiciary, led by Justice Chaudhry was not restored, neither justice could be established in the country nor the financial crisis could be overcome.