RAWALPINDI, Aug 22: Chief of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Qazi Hussain Ahmad on Tuesday said the legislators belonging to the religio-political alliance would defy ban on distribution of pamphlets outside mosques.

Speaking at a Meet the Press programme at the Rawalpindi- Islamabad Press club, he said the ban was not acceptable as it was in violation of the provisions of the constitution relating to freedom of expression. He observed that there was no justification for placing a ban on a peaceful political activity.

Answering a question, he ruled out the possibility of split in opposition and said the opposition would act in unison to bring the country back on the constitutional track.

Qazi Hussain Ahmad said different parties might have their view- point on different issues, but were united on the point that fair elections in the country were not possible in the presence of a uniformed president.

He said all the opposition parties wanted formation of an interim government for conducting elections under the constitution sans Legal Framework Order (LFO), through an independent Election Commission. He said the people would take to streets if these demands were not met.

He accused the government of having taken a U-turn on Kashmir as it did in the case of Afghanistan. He also slated the government for its operations in Baluchistan and Waziristan and crackdown on mosques and madaris. He said the purpose was to appease the United States.

He said General Pervez Musharraf had subverted the Constitution and thus committed high treason. He said all the political parties compromised on the LFO and took part in the previous general elections in the hope that democracy will be restored.

He said Gen Musharraf had announced to take his military uniform before December 31, 2004 to get support on LFO, but later on backed out of his promise. He asserted that the proposed amendment in the Hudood law was in negation of Quran and Sunnah as it was aimed at making zina bil raza (intercourse with consent) as a non cognizable offence. He rejected the criticism against the MMA legislators for tearing apart copies of the Hudood bill in the House saying that reaction was something natural.

Asked about the fate of the no-confidence motion to be moved against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday, he initially said it would be symbolic in nature. He however added that it can succeed if the members of the treasury benches also vote in accordance with their conscience.