LAHORE, Sept 3: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) amir Qazi Husain Ahmad says election of Asif Ali Zardari as the head of state will not be a good omen for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) itself because he is a controversial personality.

He was talking to the media after opening an Islamic fashion centre at Mansoora here on Wednesday.

He said that JI senators would vote for Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui (retired) for the party considered him the most suitable candidate for the office.He said though the JI did not want to bitter the political situation, it was a fact that his party had suggested boycott of the general election for the electoral process held under President Pervez Musharraf could not be expected to be fair and impartial.

He recalled that his party’s stance was that all the parties should first launch a forceful movement to get rid of Musharraf, restore the Constitution to its 1973 position and then an independent election commission under an impartial interim government should conduct the electoral exercise.

He said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif earlier accepted this stance, but then turned back and took part in the elections, accepting its results. “The nation as well as Mian Sahib is now facing the consequences.”

He said after accepting results of the general election, it was not possible to reject results of the presidential polls.

He said they had never accepted MQM’s electoral success for the regional party had heavily rigged the polls, and the process had been captured and screened by some news channels as turnout at some polling stations in Karachi was more than 100 per cent.

Earlier, opening the Islamic fashion centre (Qawareer Fasion), he lashed out at secular elements’ propaganda that hijab (veil) was just a customary obligation and a symbol of backwardness and suppression of women.

He said the spirit of World Hijab Day (Sept 4) was to counter the western propaganda linking hijab with backwardness, terrorism and repression of women. He said the secular lobbies involved in anti-Islam propaganda ridiculed all Islamic principles but their prime targets were hijab and jihad since they enjoyed key positions in fortifying and promoting Islam.

The JI leader said the secular elements attacked hijab by attributing it with the oppression of women in Muslim society whereas it was the symbol of women's modesty, prestige and honour.

He said the Muslim women observing Hijab Day showed that they observe hijab for the sake of modesty and protect their honour.

He wondered why the infidels around the world were afraid of hijab, saying they probably felt it was the symbol of Muslim civilisation's renaissance.

He said by violating human rights many western governments like France, Holland and Denmark had banned hijab, terming it a religious symbol and holding that they could not allow a religious symbolism in their secular societies.

Qazi criticised joint celebration of Independence Day at Wagah, saying the dresses of women dancing on both sides of the borders were not different.