PESHAWAR, May 30: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman warned here on Monday that the country could face a survival threat if government and military launched an operation in the North Waziristan Agency.

Speaking at a press conference after meeting members of an all parties conference here at the party secretariat, the JUI leader said: “Pakistan will not stay safe if the government went ahead with a military operation under American pressure.”

He said that the government should not yield to US pressure and chalk out its own policy. Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that there was growing anxiety among the military ranks over the existing uncertain situation in the country.

He said that army generals were responsible for this uncertainty and wrong policies had led to isolation of the armed forces.

He cautioned that if the uncertainty continued within the army, America and its allies would table a resolution at the United Nations to take over Pakistan’s nuclear assets, which would be dangerous for the entire region.

He said that JUI believed in strong and professional army and would not like to weaken this national institution.

The JUI chief criticised Interior Minister Rehman Malik who had stated that there were serious threats to his (Maulana Fazl’s) life.

The statement he said was given before his return from abroad and said that it had amazed him that Rehman Malik knew in advance about the threat to his life.

The JUI head said that he was not bothered by the threats and didn’t trust the interior ministry’s statements. He said that like his predecessor, (Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf), President Asif Ali Zardari was also using the National Accountability Bureau for victimisation of his political opponents.

He alleged that political workers and leaders were being blackmailed through NAB and said that JUI could not be pressurised through such tactics.

It is unfortunate that the army took all the important decisions and the democratic governments were helpless to the point that they were losing public confidence rapidly. “The country lacked democratic culture because the rulers didn’t want to promote a culture of tolerance where democracy could gain currency and the people feel betterment in their lives.”

He said that the problem of terrorism had become global as it was not the problem of Pakistan and Afghanistan only.

Therefore, he added, concerted efforts were needed to resolve the lingering crisis in the region.