ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: The Central Executive Committee of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) while endorsing “in principle” the APDM’s decision to resign from the national and provincial assemblies in protest against General Pervez Musharraf’s bid to get re-elected as president, also re-opened the issue of the timing of the crucial move, and authorised its leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman to again take up the matter with the high-command of Muttahida Majli-i-Amal (MMA).

With the eyes of the entire APDM leadership now focused on the JUI (F), Maulana Fazl chaired the central executive meeting to discuss in totality the consequences of the resignation move.

Sources in the JUI said that most members agreed on the issue that timing was key to the entire move, and any wrong step may jeopardise their entire struggle for the restoration of true civilian rule in the country.

The JUI leadership had asked Maulana Fazl to hold frank discussions with other components of the religious alliance, particularly with the Jamaat-i-Islami leader, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, with a view to explaining to him the negative fallout of such a move.

Unconfirmed reports said the central executive also requested the Maulana that at no cost the decision should result in the dismemberment of the MMA. The JUI (F) is the most significant component of the MMA alliance, and for that matter, the biggest group within the larger opposition alliance, APDM.

Political observers say that without the JUI agreeing to resign on the eve of the filing of nomination papers for the presidential elections, the entire opposition’s exercise will become meaningless.

Earlier, the Maulana, while on a tour of Saudi Arabia, had expressed his reservations on the timing of announcement of resignations and lack of consultation with him.

His other point of veiled criticism of the APDM decision was that if its members were to resign, there was no need to approach the Supreme Court with a petition to challenge Gen Musharraf’s credentials as a presidential candidate.

Sources close to the JUI leadership told Dawn that during Monday’s deliberation at the JUI meeting, NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, who attended the meeting as a special invitee, opposed dissolution of the NWFP assembly on the ground that it might lead to further benefiting Al Qaeda-led militant elements in the province. He, however, supported the proposal for resigning from the National Assembly.

The party executive was stuck with deliberations that quitting the assembly seats before Supreme Court verdict in dual offices case would hurt the interests of the opposition.

In case the apex court decision comes in favour of the opposition and the presidential election is halted, the opposition would become helpless in the wake of having submitted its resignations from assemblies, the sources privy to the meeting quoted the participants as having said.

It was decided that the committee would continue its deliberations in Peshawar on Tuesday before the start of the MMA central executive meeting scheduled to meet there to finalise its recommendations for the next APDM meeting.

According to inside sources, although the majority of the participants in the meeting accepted in principle the option of using resignations as a pressure tool but expressed the view that the timing of such a step should be such that it did not prove to be counter-productive.

Only five regular members of the 17-member executive attended the meeting, the sources said. These are: Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Maulana Mohammad Yousuf, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Malik Sikandar and Amjad Khan.

The party leaders who attended the meeting as special invitees were three provincial party presidents, Maulana Gul Nasib (the NWFP), Qazi Hamidullah (Punjab) and Maulana Mohammad Khan Herani (Balochistan); Shamsul Rahman Shamsi, Lutful Rahman, Akram Khan Durrani, and Mufti Abrar.

The presidential party presidents had been summoned to the meeting to forward their respective provincial opinion, whereas Akram Khan Durrani gave his output about the proposed dissolution of the provincial assembly as a step to thwart presidential elections.