LAHORE, Nov 8: Contacts among opposition parties for an anti-government drive are likely to mature this month, expects the Jamaat-i-Islami, a larger constituent of the MMA.

Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, JI Secretary-General Syed Munawwar Hassan stated that a close coordination with the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and other parties was going on and a protest strategy was likely to be finalized this month.

The government, he alleged, had proved in the wake of the Oct 8 disaster that it was here for accomplishing the agenda of Nato and the USA. He regretted that neither parliament nor the nation was taken into confidence on the agreement that allowed deployment of Nato and US forces in sensitive areas of Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.

He demanded that the nation should be informed about the modalities of the agreement; under what law the alien forces were allowed to get in, their assignment, and duration of stay. However, if the step had been taken without any formal agreement, even then it was condemnable, he said, seeking immediate departure of the forces for the country did not lack human resources.

He also demanded that the Pakistani troops trained in climbing mountains and currently deployed in Waziristan should be immediately brought back to use their expertise in tremor-stricken areas.

Mr Hassan expressed his party’s concerns about security of nuclear arsenals and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan in the presence of alien troops.

He deplored the world community’s lukewarm response to the relief aid for quake victims despite repeated appeals by the UN.

Expressing his pessimism about the outcome of Nov 18 donors’ conference in Islamabad, he said the West had never come to the rescue of Muslims at the time of grief.

He, however, said the nation had responded well to the call and the rulers should take it into confidence for boosting its passion. He called for a joint session of parliament for discussing the national tragedy and instituting a prime minister’s relief fund instead of the president’s.

A relief committee with the prime minister in the chair and representatives of all political parties as its members also should also be formed to monitor proper utilization of all the aid, he said.

No foreign aid would be needed once national unity was created by these steps, he predicted. The Jamaat leader alleged that the MQM workers had fired at his party volunteers at a relief camp in Muzaffarabad, injuring them seriously.

Accusing the MQM of being a fascist group, he demanded that ruling PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Husain must take notice of its terrorist act and get the accused immediately arrested.

He told the mediamen that at least 8,500 Jamaat volunteers from across the country were engaged in the relief work in the quake-hit areas and were being replaced after every 10 days.

He claimed that owing to “all is okay” reports being telecast by the PTV, relief supplies to the affected areas had registered a sharp decline.

The victims needed at least 200 truckloads of food items, medicines and tents daily against the current supply of 30 truckloads, he said.