LAHORE, July 1: The MMA sees no threat to the incumbent system, and believes that there is no chance of fresh general elections in the near future, arguing that rulers cannot afford to take such a risk.

MMA Deputy Secretary-General Liaquat Baloch told Dawn here on Thursday that the present political crisis was aimed at diverting public attention from the uniform issue and lingering it up to December by creating an "artificial chaos" in the country.

"Had there been any plan to hold general elections, Shaukat Aziz would not have been nominated as the prime minister in-waiting, and instead assemblies would have been dissolved (with Mr Aziz) as the interim premier."

Moreover, the rulers could not get two-thirds majority in the senate even through the new polls for amending the constitution for seeking relaxation on the uniform issue. For this purpose, they would have to again hold the basic law in abeyance, he argued.

Asked if the MMA would extend support to the ARD candidates, who would contest bypolls from Attock and Tharparker, against Mr Aziz, he said the religious alliance would discuss the issue with other opposition parties with open mind.

He, however, did not expect a positive response from the PPP which, he said, was bewildered and not sure how to appease the US and army simultaneously. He said things settled by the local leadership during meetings with the MMA were later overruled by Ms Benazir Bhutto, but there was no such problem with the PML-N.

"Agencies make attractive offers to engage (the opposition parties) in dialogues while the PPP had its own compulsions of release of Asif Zardari and return of Ms Bhutto."

The bypolls, Mr Baloch said, would provide the opposition a good opportunity to adopt a joint strategy against the establishment, which wanted to maintain its hold on the system in the name of democracy through the ruling coalition.