KARACHI, Oct 10: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and Jamaat-i-Islami have described the killing of eminent ulema in the country as part of a conspiracy to foment religious disharmony.

Chief of the MMA Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Naib Amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami Prof Ghafoor Ahmad said in a statement on Sunday that killers of Mufti Jameel Ahmad Khan and Maulana Nazeer Ahmad Taunsvi be arrested immediately and given exemplary punishment.

However, they appealed to masses not to get provoked by such terrorist attacks being made in an organized manner one after the other. They advised followers of all schools of thought to exercise restraint and maintain peace and harmony which was the only way to foil the government's designs of instigating sectarian unrest.

Expressing their grief over the ulema's killing, they claimed that the assassination had been carried out 'under an agenda'. However, they added, the government would not succeed in its plot to provoke people's sentiments.

They criticized the government for its failure to prevent occurrence of such incidents and arrest the culprits. While the government appeared busy striving relentlessly for more and more powers, the poor masses are denied even their legitimate rights.

They pointed out that on the 133rd day of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai's assassination, another two eminent scholars of the same institution, Jamia Binnoria, were eliminated. They termed the killings 'an irreparable loss'.

"Gen Musharraf's military regime's policy viz-a-viz the so called war on terrorism is proactive under which the people wanted by US are located and picked up, but in the case of those involved in targeting ulema, criminal negligence is demonstrated." This attitude, they said, strengthened the apprehension that the government was directly involved in the killings.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief Altaf Hussain on Sunday condemned the killing of Mufti Mohammad Jameel and Maulana Nazeer Ahmad Taunsvi by terrorists on Saturday. He also condemned the suicide bomb attack at Imambargah Hussainia Hall in Lahore on Sunday.

Terming the incidents 'open terrorism', Mr Hussain said those involved in such acts of terrorism could not be called Muslims or even human being. In his statement issued from London, Mr Hussain urged President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to take concrete steps against terrorism and ensure arrest of culprits.

Expressing his deep sense of shock and grief over the loss of life in these incidents, he said that it appeared to be a series of terrorist acts aimed at triggering sectarian violence and pit brother against brother in order to destabilize the country. He offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

Senator Allama Abbas Kumaili also condemned the killings and attack on Imambargah. He observed that a surge in terrorist attacks against religious scholars and institutions and places of worship had been noticed ever since the issue of president's uniform had been raised. He said that the motive for such attacks seemed to be creating disharmony among sects.