PESHAWAR, Feb 23: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad condemning the operation in South Waziristan Agency has termed it part of the US conspiracy to provoke tribesmen against the army.

Speaking at a function held at Jamia Arabia Hadiqatul Uloom, Al Markaz-i-Islami, on Monday, he claimed that there was no presence of Al Qaeda fugitives in the tribal belt, saying the US wanted to justify its expansionism in the entire region.

The JI chief said that those who opposed the US policies were being declared supporters of the Al Qaeda network. He said that the allied forces had been deployed on the country's western borders and Pakistan had been besieged from all sides.