ISLAMABAD, July 20: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Friday criticised the government for hiding exact number of students killed during the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa operation which, he said, had been carried out under US pressure.

Addressing a protest demonstration here, the MMA leader urged all political and religious organisations to join hands against the government to prevent it from assaulting the remaining religious institutions and mosques in the country.

Qazi Hussain said it was a pity that the faithful were not being allowed to offer Friday prayers at Lal Masjid and asked ulema to come out and pressurise the administration to lift the siege of the mosque and allow prayers from next Friday.

He said that every house was mourning its dead and the administration was misguiding the public opinion on the number of deaths and the people missing since the Lal Masjid operation.

He accused Gen Musharraf of painting the true Muslims, who were struggling to uphold Islamic values, as enemy number 1, describing them more dangerous than India.