QUETTA, Sept 19: The leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said on Sunday that President Gen Pervez Musharraf's policies about his military post and the situation in Wana were pushing the country towards a crisis.

Speaking at a public meeting in Nushki, he emphasized that the rulers must keep in view the ground realities while formulating the policies. He said deviation from the accord signed between the government and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal that ensured the passage of the 17th Amendment, would create a political crisis.

He said the MMA had, in good faith, provided the army generals a constitutional way to get the army out of politics but now it felt that the rulers wanted to create instability to protect an individual.

He said that according to the constitution, no government servant, including the chief of the army staff, could become the president or prime minister. The MMA leader stressed that President Musharraf must leave his military post by Dec 31 and honour the commitment made after the passage of the 17th Amendment.

He said that if the president backed out of the commitment, it would lead to a political crisis, that would not be in the interest of the country. He accused President Musharraf of victimizing tribesmen in the name of hunt for foreign militants in Wana. He said the army was being used against the patriotic tribesmen who had always protected the interest of Pakistan.

He said the MMA would never surrender before the military dictatorship. He said recent raids on madressahs were aimed at putting pressure on the alliance. He said the message sent by the adoption of a resolution by the Punjab Assembly on the president's military post would create doubts in the smaller provinces.

The opposition leader condemned United States atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan and said the imperialist forces were occupying the states to control their resources.

He said the MMA condemned terrorism but the difference between it and Jihad should be kept in view. He said the forces led by the US were using the issue of terrorism to maintain their domination on smaller nations.

He said the alliance would support the resistance in Afghanistan and Iraq as the people of both the countries were struggling to liberate themselves from foreign domination.