LAHORE: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rehman has expressed dissatisfaction over decisions taken by the All Parties Democratic Movement at its Friday meeting in Islamabad and said he will advise parties in the alliance to avoid any action that may derail the ‘democratic process’.

Talking to Dawn from Makkah, he said the country was at a crossroads and one wrong step by the opposition could lead to imposition of martial law or emergency.

Maulana Fazl, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, is expected to have a second meeting with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Jeddah on Sunday before flying back to Pakistan. They are expected to discuss decisions taken by the APDM.

Maulana Fazl said he would present his point of view at a meeting of APDM leaders to be held in Islamabad on Sept 26.

“We’ll go with the APDM, but we will also let our reservations be known to everyone in the coalition.”

He said he was opposed to the political culture the country had experienced during the 1988-99 period when opposition parties used all their energy to dislodge governments. As a result, he recalled, no government could complete its tenure, nor could the political system stabilise.

Referring to the opposition’s unabated criticism of Gen Pervez Musharraf, the MMA leader said it would not be fair to hold the general responsible for all problems of the country. He said Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto also faced similar situations during their tenures, but it led the country nowhere.

In his opinion, he said, unnecessary criticism of the general should be shunned.

Maulana Fazl said the opposition parties heaped praise on the Supreme Court when it gave some judgments against the government. All leaders said the court had come out of the government’s pressure and was working independently. But now that there were signs the Supreme Court might not give a judgment of the opposition’s liking on some petitions against Gen Musharraf, the same parties had started holding demonstrations. Such an attitude, he warned, could tarnish the image of the opposition parties and they could be regarded as self-serving entities. He said the government would exploit the situation to its benefit.

Asked what would the JUI-F policy be in case the Supreme Court ruled that Gen Musharraf was eligible to contest the presidential election, Maulana Fazl said that was the real dilemma.

The opposition parties, he said, had taken the matter to the court and there would be little justification for them not to accept the verdict.