KARACHI, Sept 9: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) leader and chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed has maintained that the October elections will be a contest between opponents and supporters of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s domestic and pro-American policies.

Talking to newsmen at Idara Noor-i-Haq he said the contest would be between those who wanted restoration of the constitution and those who have been supporting the military’s indulgence in politics.

In response to a question he said no one was against the armed forces but the indulgence of its top leadership in politics was being opposed.

Replying to another question he said the MMA was not averse to seat adjustments and meeting with anyone to continue dialogue. At local levels such directions have been given and all depended on the willingness of the component party’s candidate in a given constituency. This, he admitted, was an impediment in seat adjustment process.

In this context, he said, if Nawaz Sharif or anyone else wanted to meet him or any other leader of the MMA, the alliance would respond accordingly, because it believed in national dialogue. But he categorically denied reports that he had undertaken a recent trip to Saudi Arabia to meet the exiled prime minister.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed alleged that the government was obstructing electioneering process in order to accomplish its desired results. He said that obstruction in the MMA’s train march was part of that strategy. He refuted the government’s allegation that the MMA train march was against the code of conduct of the election commission.

Asked whether he was sure that the elections would be held as scheduled, he replied with an emphatic “Insha Allah” and added that the government was itself spreading rumours to keep people away from taking part in election process.

He said the MMA wanted to implement Islamic system of governance, enforcing recommendations of the Islamic Ideology Council and restoring the 1973 Constitution in its original shape.

To a query, he said PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto should return to Pakistan to face cases in the courts. He added that nobody had forced the PPP leader into exile.

The JI chief was of the view that peace could not be restored in Afghanistan unless foreign troops left that country. “We are neither involved in any movement in Afghanistan nor we have contacts with anybody, including Hikmatyar,” he maintained.

The JI chief condemned rangers’ action against teachers and students of Karachi University and termed it “state terrorism”, adds PPI.