TAXILA, Sept 19: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) would launch a countrywide protest movement if President Gen Pervez Musharraf did not quit the office of army chief till December 31.

This was stated by Jamaat-i-Islami Deputy Chief and MMA Punjab President Hafiz Mohammad Idrees while talking to mediapersons in Wah Cantonment. MMA MPA from Wah Cantonment Prof Mohammad Waqas Khan was also present on this occasion.

The JI deputy chief said if President Musharraf did not fulfil his promise within the given deadline, the MMA would hold protest demonstrations throughout the country and the masses would take to the streets to force the president to quit COAS office.

"We consented to allow President Musharraf to keep the uniform till the fulfilment of constitutional requirements, but under the agreement between the government and the MMA, the president is bound to shed uniform by December 31," he added.

He said those supporting Musharraf's uniform were in fact violating the Constitution. He termed the Punjab Assembly's resolution on the uniform issue a cruel joke with democracy.

Talking about cabinet size, he said it would be a huge burden on the national exchequer. About the military operation in Wana and Balochistan, he said the MMA had always criticized the government for use of force against its own people.

He said the MMA believed that operation in the tribal region was being carried on the US dictations. Mr Idress asserted that wrong and ill-planned policies of the present government had posed great risk to the country's sovereignty and security.

He said political issues could be tackled only politically and any attempt to find a military solution to these was fraught with dangerous consequences. The JI leader said the MMA was the only political force which could resolve the situation amicably.

Later, speaking at a party convention, Mohammad Idrees criticized the government for its move to not allow the Jamaat-i- Islami to hold a workers convention at Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore.

He said such tactics would not demoralize the religious parties activists. The rulers do not have the courage to face the opposition leaders, he added. Mr Idress said the JI had decided to hold its grand convention in NWFP.

PTCL UNION: The peaceful struggle of over 50,000 Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) employees will turn violent if the company management does not accept their demands.