ISLAMABAD, June 11: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Friday rejected the interior minister's statement in the National Assembly about the Wana operation and warned President Gen Pervez Musharraf and the military of dangerous consequences of pitching the army against civilian population.

Talking to newsmen at the Parliament House, the MMA leader accused the interior minister of acting against the national interest by declaring an unnecessary war on tribesmen and threatening them.

Replying to a question, he said that after the chief election commissioner's decision of declaring the May 12 by-election to three seats of Karachi null and void, it was his duty to ensure free and fair polling in August.

He accused the Sindh governor of planning the rigging in the by-election and demanded his removal before the re-election. Dismissing the notion that the attack on the Karachi corps commander had any link with the Wana situation, he said: "A group of a party has made the city its hostage since early 1980's and unless that group is weakened and disarmed the issue of Karachi does not appear to be getting resolved".

He alleged that some "foreign agents" were working on a plan to disrupt the peace of Karachi. Asked why the MMA remained silent on the government's policies, particularly in Wana, he Qazi Hussain said: "We cannot fight against our army but we can warn it of the dangerous consequences of its moves."

He said there was great resentment in the nation against the government's unpopular policies adopted under the dictates of the United States. He called for a negotiated settlement on the lines of the Shakai accord and said the tribal legislators and elders were ready to help in resolving the issue without the use of force.

About reported moves for an in-house change, he said he had met Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali to advise both of them to maintain peaceful coexistence and enhance coordination between themselves.

He claimed that Chaudhry Shujaat had assured him that he had stopped the 'move' to replace Mr Jamali with another loyalist. Similarly, he said, he had advised President Musharraf to keep himself within the precincts of the presidency.