QUETTA, Nov 6: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that there is no harm in contesting general election under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

Addressing a press conference here before leaving for Islamabad on Tuesday, Maulana Fazl said the objective should be to rid the country of dictatorship, because the issue was not whether polls would be held under the PCO or the Constitution.

He urged opposition parties to unite on a single-point agenda and launch a joint movement.

He condemned the countrywide crackdown on political leaders and lawyers and said the government should be aware that political movements could not be suppressed by use of force.

He said the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was against dictatorship and would struggle along with other political parties.

The maulana said that the JUI-F was playing a positive role in resolving the Waziristan and Swat crises, adding that normality would return to the tribal areas if the government accepted the recommendations of a tribal jirga and local elders.