QUETTA, March 7: The Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and General Secretary of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Maulana Fazlur Rehman has blamed President Gen Musharraf’s wrong foreign policy for what he called the global isolation of Pakistan.

Addressing a huge rally held here in protest against blasphemous cartoons published in some European newspapers, he said perpetrators of the offence should not be let off with mere apology. The blasphemers deserved death penalty, he said.

The rally was held under the joint auspices of opposition parties.

Maulana Fazl expressed deep dismay at the way Pakistan touted its friendship with the United States and other Western powers which were brazenly inclined towards India and were providing her the assistance that hardly any other country ever received.

He also criticized the destructive policies the US and its Western allies were pursuing in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said that the recent bombings of holy shrines of Iraq and putting the blame on Sunni elements were creating sectarian strife in the country.

He accused the government of supporting the aggressive actions of the United States in Waziristan and Bajaur.

He criticized the ruling party for turning the LB polls into a scam, carried out in broad daylight.

He alleged that the same tactics were used in the Senate elections held on Monday. He said despite the fact that the government always criticized the opposition for labelling all elections as rigged; the opposition had proof of the riggings.—Online