ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: Leader of opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rahman said on Monday that religious parties were not extremist. Talking to reporters here, he said that in real terms those elements were extremists which were chasing and tracking down religious leaders, institutions, Ulema and seminaries’ students.

He said a big majority of the candidates supported by his party had won the local body polls.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who is also the secretary-general of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), alleged that the government was involved in his deportation from the UAE to defame and pressurize him.

He said he had shown maximum restraint to respect the friendly relations between Pakistan and the UAE.

The MMA leader took strong exception to the recent statement of a US spokesman criticizing the national syllabus in Pakistan and said: “Whatever the American official said was clear interference in our internal affairs.”

Commenting on the anti-MMA demonstration by some women outside the Election Commission office to protest against the ban on women participation in the local body polls in certain areas, Maulana Fazlur Rahman said: “It was MMA which mobilized women to participate in the elections, whereas women were barred from voting in some parts of Nowshera by the PPP-S.

He said the MMA had encouraged women to file nomination papers and cast votes by interpreting its importance under the Islamic tenets.

He, however, said that there were tribal traditions in some areas where women were not allowed to take part in the election process.

He said the tradition was not confined to the NWFP alone, because women were also not allowed to vote in parts of Punjab and Sindh.

The MMA leader regretted that while the Election Commission had targeted religious alliance’s ministers from the NWFP for action, it ignored the complaints of rampant meddling and supporting their candidates by the federal and provincial ministers in Punjab.

He termed the polling procedure ‘very difficult’ for voters who had to fill up six ballot papers and were expected to remember names and symbols of every candidate. Had the elections been held on party basis the direct involvement of political parties would have made a great difference, he added.

He warned the government to refrain from taking steps against seminaries and their syllabus.