KARACHI, Sept 2: Amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed has impressed upon party workers to pay due attention to the enrolment of voters in electoral lists and make preparation for the local bodies elections scheduled to be held next year.

He urged all JI activists, men and women, to expedite the mass contact campaign which would also help strengthen the MMA. Qazi Saheb was addressing the party workers at a gathering held at Idara Noor-i-Haq here on Wednesday night. The participants discussed arrangements for the conference being held on the occasion of JI's 64th founding day at Minar-i-Pakistan from Oct 1 to 3.

Describing the conference as a manifestation of Muslim unity and a message of justice and peace, Qazi Hussain Ahmed criticized the government's pro-US policies. The countrywide protest rallies planned for Sept 11 were meant to give the message to the world that "Islam is a religion of justice and peace."

Muslims around the world are victim of oppression and terrorism, he observed, and added that on the 11th instant, the US terrorism and against Muslims would be exposed.

Condemning raids by government agencies on religious seminaries, the Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who is also President of the MMA, claimed that the action was aimed at provoking ulema.

"We want to ask the rulers why were the ulema and the nation were being targeted on the dictates of Washington... what objective the government wants to attain by appeasing the United States and Europe this way."