ISLAMABAD Feb 28: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) acting president Qazi Hussain Ahmed urged President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday to relinquish as army chief without waiting for the Dec 31 deadline so that the ongoing military operation in the tribal areas could be stopped.

He told a news conference that the MMA supreme council would meet on March 5 and general council on March 6 to chalk out a strategy for launching countrywide movement against what he termed government's "complete submission" to the United States' dictates on the country's internal and external policies.

He called upon the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the killings of innocent tribesmen and fix responsibility for the action.

The MMA chief, who is also the parliamentary leader of the alliance in the National Assembly, condemned the "criminal act of killing of 11 tribesmen by security forces in Wana".

He said those responsible for the action must be brought to book and meted out exemplary punishment.

Alleging that the rulers had compromised country's independence and sovereignty, Qazi Hussain said: "We have become hostage to the ambitions of Americans ... who want that our army should clash with the masses." He appealed to tribesmen to remain patient and not to take arms against their security forces.

Accusing the president and government ministers of causing serious differences with the Islamic world by issuing statements against Iran and Libya, he said the government was on a warpath with tribesmen and Ulema and was following a path that could deprive the country of its nuclear capability.

Qazi Hussain said despite being a frontline state in the so-called war on terrorism, Pakistan's nuclear programme and unity were under threat due to accusations unleashed by western powers.

He expressed the fear that if pushed to the wall, the tribesmen could resort to an unending retaliation that would see the armed forces engaged in a war against their own people.