LAHORE, Nov 8: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) has threatened to hold protest demonstrations at district headquarters across the country on Nov 16 if the government does not lift the state of emergency by Nov 15.

MMA secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rahman made the announcement on Thursday after a consultative meeting of the six-party religious alliance.

The venue of the meeting was shifted to the JUP secretariat in Gulberg when police prevented them from entering Mansoora, the Jamaat-i-Islami headquarters.

Flanked by vice-president Sajid Naqvi, Qari Zawwar Bahadur and former NWFP chief minister Akram Durani, Maulana Fazl said the MMA would also organise a national consultative session in Islamabad on Nov 14 to take on board all opposition parties, lawyers and civil society in their struggle against extra-constitutional measures taken by Gen Musharraf.

“The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal rejects the imposition of emergency and demands its immediate lifting, restoration of the judiciary, doffing of uniform by Gen Musharraf, announcement of election schedule, freedom of media and release of arrested political workers, lawyers and journalists,” Maulana Fazl said.

He said the decisions carried the approval of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal president Qazi Hussain Ahmad, under house arrest at Mansoora and Senator Sajid Mir, chief of the Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith.

Senator Mir also could not turn up at the meeting due to, what the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said, the police cordon.

Maulana Fazl said the democratic forces could achieve their objectives only through a joint struggle. He said the division among opposition parties had emboldened Gen Musharraf to take such a harsh step.

Asked if the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, under the same spirit of launching a joint struggle, would join the long march announced by the PPP, he said the party had not yet been invited for the purpose.

Commenting on Gen Musharraf’s commitment of holding polls by Feb 15, he said the military ruler like in the past would back out of his promises in the absence of public pressure.