LAHORE, July 1: The operation in Wazirastan Agency was not against Al Qaeda activists or the Taliban, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said here on Monday. Rather, he said, it was a fight against local tribesmen.

Talking to reporters after the election of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal’s provincial leadership, he said the people were protesting against the operation because soldiers entered their homes without permission.

Such actions, he said, were neither in the interest of the country nor the army. He regretted that the armed forces were shedding the blood of their own people to safeguard the interests of the United States.

He told a questioner that his party was trying to protect the solidarity of the country and avert civil war in the tribal area.

Asked if the MMA would defend any leader arrested by the government for alleged contacts with Al Qaeda, he replied in the negative. “We are struggling peacefully to achieve our objectives within the ambit of the law of the land. We don’t need to clarify our position before any authority.”

Answering how the religious elements had softened their stance over US presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said once the military government had surrendered to the US, what could the unarmed civilians do.

When asked to comment on the statement of Functional League president Pir Pagara hinting at postponement of elections, the Maulana said the MMA was preparing for polls in view of the announcement made by the government. He said he did not want MMA workers to be distracted.

Earlier, Jamaat-i-Islami, Punjab, amir Hafiz Muhammad Idrees was unanimously elected as MMA provincial president and Syed Mahfooz Mashhadi of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan as general secretary. Maulana Bashir Shad, Sibtain Kazmi, Maulana Rashid Ludhianvi and Yusuf Anwar were elected as vice-presidents and Maulana Amjad Khan as information secretary.