MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 24: Jamaat-i-Islami’s secretary general Syed Munawwar Hassan has said that the control of relief work in quake-affected areas should be handed over to the civilian government and the army should only assist them in the task. “Monitoring of aid activities (by army) in the name of relief should come to an end and this task should be assigned to the civilian government or to a committee comprising members of parliament,” he told a news conference after visiting a field hospital and relief camp run by Al-Khidmat Foundation here on Thursday.

He accused President Pervez Musharraf of “sabotaging the harmony between the government and the opposition to prolong his rule”.

“An ambience of harmony has emerged between the government and the opposition regarding humanitarian services in the quake-hit areas, but Gen Musharraf is trying to spoil it by taking steps and passing orders which fall in the purview of parliament,” he added.

Mr Hassan called for return of Nato forces, claiming that their presence was “a threat to the country’s nuclear programme”.

“The Nato forces neither have experience of relief work nor is relief on their actual agenda,” he added.

He said under the Constitution the army is subservient to the civilian government “but here one person is tarnishing the reputation of this institution,” he said.

Mr Hassan criticised deployment of troops in Waziristan “to fight a war that was not in the interests of the country” and called for immediate halt to the operation.

“The army should be recalled immediately and deployed in the high altitude quake-hit areas to serve the affected people,” he said. Mr Hassan said Islamabad had surrendered many things to establish ties with India but people of Pakistan would not allow any compromise on their sovereignty and independence.

He said there was no change in India’s obduracy and its rejection of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s proposals was a disgrace for the whole nation. “We will have to reframe our policy vis-à-vis India,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said the pledges made by the international community regarding rehabilitation of quake victims would overburden the country’s economy. “It will be a severe mistake on the part of the government. Instead of accepting these pledges, the government should rely on its own people and Islamic countries,” he added.