LAHORE, March 17: MMA vice-president Prof Sajid Mir has criticized the prime minister for appealing to the nation to pray for the well-being of the US president who, he said, was committing atrocities against Muslims.

In a statement on Wednesday, he said advocacy for Bush by an elected prime minister insulted the nation and amounted to rubbing salt into wounds of the Ummat.

He warned the rulers against going too far in following US dictations, and asked them to learn a lesson from the humiliation of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein, both of whom were once heroes for Americans.

Demanding an immediate end to the army operation in Wana, he said intensifying the operation would prove dangerous for the army itself. He alleged the US forces were also taking part in the operation against the "terrorists", who were Mujahideen for the Americans some time ago.

He regretted that an individual was taking decisions, bypassing the nation as well as parliament. Prof Mir, chief of MMA's sixth constituent - the Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, emphasized the need for unity among religious forces for countering America and the allied forces. He said despite reservations about some decisions of the MMA, his party would be in the forefront in the campaign against America.