ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was asked on Sunday by the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy not to attend a protest rally being held in Quetta on Monday against the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

An All-Parties Conference held in Islamabad had given a call for the rally.

The dates of the rally were changed three times. It was first fixed for Sept 15, then for Sept 17 and now it is being held on Sept 18.

Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s deputy parliamentary leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmad was contacted by ARD secretary-general Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on Sunday and informed about alliance’s request.

He said that the MMA should not attend the rally because there was fear that nationalist workers would oppose their participation.

Mr Jhagra told Mr Ahmad that religious alliance leaders could face humiliation because Baloch protesters could chant anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan slogans and object to their participation.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Ahmad expressed regrets over the ARD decision and said it had exposed the alliance’s double standards.

One the one hand, he said, it was talking of a joint struggle against the government and on the other, Benazir Bhutto had asked her party not to be part of a grand opposition alliance.

He said if component parties in the ARD were sincere about launching a campaign to oust the military-led government, they must avoid such tactics and not dictate terms on the MMA.