ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Monday said it would observe January 1 as black day if President Pervez Musharraf did not quit the office of the army chief after the December 31 deadline.

Jamaat-i-Islami (Punjab) Deputy Chief and member national assembly from Islamabad Mian Mohammad Aslam said the president should stand by his commitment or else face a mass movement.

Speaking at a meeting of the local leaders, the MNA said workers of the religious parties' alliance would hold protests at different public places in the capital and erect black banners on January 1.

The protest would not only be observed in Islamabad, rather demonstrations would be organized throughout the country on the same day, he added. The black day will mark the beginning of the second phase of MMA's countrywide movement for supremacy of democracy, Mr Aslam said.

"Dictatorship is the root cause of all ills in the country," he said, adding that it had always usurped the powers and undermined the independence of judiciary.