ATTOCK, July 18: Pakistan and Gen Pervez Musharraf cannot proceed further together as time has come for the ‘military dictator’ to give way to real democracy in the country.

This was stated by central leaders of Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal (MMA) including Qazi Hussian Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Liaquat Baloch and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed while speaking at a public meeting at Railway Stadium on Monday night.

The meeting marked the launch of MMA’s mass contact movement aimed at mustering public support against the present government.

The speakers said there was no rule of law, and an atmosphere of terror and nepotism was prevailing in the country.

They condemned the killing of religious scholars including Maulana Abbas Qadri and Allama Hasan Turabi, and alleged that religious leaders were being assassinated to realise the western agenda.

Opposing the local government system, the MMA leaders said the devaluation plan of the rulers had failed to deliver and people were facing problems as the entire executive and administrative structure of the country had paralysed.

They criticised the ongoing military operation in Balochistan and Waziristan and described it as being fatal to the country’s sovereignty. They suggested that a joint session of the parliament be summoned to discuss such sensitive national issues.

They said the National Accountability Bureau was being used for political victimisation.

The MMA leadership also alleged that western culture was being promoted as part of a conspiracy, causing great setback to the norms of Islamic society. However, religious forces will fail such negative attempts and continue their struggle for enforcement of Islamic law in the country, they added.

They held rulers responsible for political instability, poverty, price hike, unemployment and lawlessness in the country.

“In such a situation, the only option left to the masses is to extend their support to opposition political parties in lunching a struggle to rid the nation of all such crises,” the MMA leaders said.

They said an interim national government and an impartial election commission should be set up to hold free and fair general elections without any delay. They also called for restoration of the constitution to its pre-October 12, 1999, form.

The speakers also blasted at the US and said it had taken cover of war against terrorism to crush Muslims and occupy the entire resources of Muslim world.

They said the US had committed international terrorism by attacking Afghanistan and Iraq, adding that it was a naked violation of the principles of justice and human rights.