ISLAMABAD, March 5: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal president Qazi Hussain Ahmad has said the multi-party conference in London will not achieve its objectives if Pakistan People’s Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto does not attend it.

Talking to journalists on the premises of the Supreme Court here on Monday, Qazi Hussain said President Pervez Musharraf should step down because his policy of supporting the US had failed. A neutral national government should be set up for holding free, fair and transparent elections, he added.

The MMA leader said “elections cells” in the Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau should be immediately closed. He also criticised what he called the ISI’s role in the local body election.

He challenged the claim of the government that Gen Musharraf could seek another presidential term, saying a bar on contesting election by a government employee for any public office until two years after retirement or resignation was still part of the Constitution.

He accused Gen Musharraf of violating the Constitution and said that under the 17th constitutional amendment he had to quit his army job by Dec 31, 2004.When asked if he had withdrawn his threat to resign form the National Assembly under any pressure, he said he was answerable only to his party, the Jamaat-i-Islami, and the Almighty Allah and no one else could pressurise him to do anything.

Commenting on rejection by the Supreme Court of Gen Hameed Gul’s petition about an attack in tribal areas, the JI chief called for extending the court’s jurisdictions to the tribal areas which, he said, were part of Pakistan.

He condemned a Nato general’s threats of hot pursuit into Pakistan and said Pakistan should not have ignored Iran while holding a conference of foreign ministers of seven ‘like-minded’ Muslim countries in Islamabad.

The MMA leader said the Americans were trying to prolong their stay in Afghanistan and Iraq on various pretexts and were trying to divide the Muslims on the basis of sects and regions.

He stressed the need for reorganising the armed forces and redefining its role, and said that running the country’s administration and getting involved in politics were not the job of the army.

He said impartial election was not possible under a “partisan ruling clique led by Gen Musharraf”.

Qazi Hussain said a “mockery of democracy” was in force in the country, judiciary had failed to deliver justice, a gulf had been created between the people and the army and there was a state of anarchy everywhere.