PESHAWAR, Nov 22: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has warned that pro-Musharraf parties will be sole beneficiaries of a decision by the opposition to boycott the general elections.

Talking to journalists after attending the party’s parliamentary board meeting here on Thursday, he said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf would dominate the political scene if opposition parties did not participate in the polls.

He said the boycott of elections could be effective only if all the parties in the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and All Parties Democratic Movement took a unanimous decision.

“The opposition seems divided at the moment and is yet to decide whether to boycott the elections,” Maulana Fazl said.

When asked if his party would take part in the polls, he said the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s (MMA) Supreme Council meeting in Islamabad would take a final decision.

The parliamentary board of the JUI (F) at its meeting finalised the list of candidates. The party’s provincial chief Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb chaired the meeting.

The party decided to field Maulana Fazlur Rehman for two National Assembly seats, NA-24 Dera Ismail Khan and NA-25 Tank. The other candidates are Maulana Attaur Rehman, NA-26 Bannu; Maulana Mufti Mohammad Ajmal, NA-15 Karak; Maulana Abdul Hai, NA-14 Kohat; Maulana Rehmatullah, NA-2 Peshawar; Maulana Mohammad Sadiq, NA-16 Hangu; Qari Samiullah Jan, NA-3 Peshawar; Maulana Mohammad Mujahid, NA-6 Nowshera; Mufti Abdullah Shah, NA-7 Charsadda; Maulana Mohammad Idress, NA-8 Charsadda; Maulana Shujaul Mulk, NA-9 Mardan; Maulana Attaullah Dervish, NA-13 Swabi; Maulana Mohammad Qasim, NA-10 Mardan; Qari Syed Abdur Rahim, NA-18 Abbottabad; Syed Ghulam Mohammad Nabi, NA-20 Mansehra; Qari Mohammad Yousaf, NA-22 Battagram; Maulana Abdul Haleem, NA-23 Kohistan; and Qari Abdul Bais, NA-29 Swat.

APP adds: Talking to the state-television PTV, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that all political parties should participate in the upcoming general elections. “We should set aside our differences, devise a joint strategy and go to the elections,” he said.