KARACHI, April 13: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal chief, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, has asked General Pervez Musharraf to choose between uniform and presidency.

“At this critical juncture the country needs a full-time chief of the army staff, and if Gen Musharraf prefers to remain in uniform, he should vacate the office of President and fulfil the constitutional requirements,” he said while speaking at a reception held by the MMA’s vice-chairman Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Saturday night.

The MMA chief also deplored the American invasion of Iraq and charged Washington with the genocide of the Muslims “against whom a diabolic front has been created by the barbaric regime which let loose its terror in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries of the world”.

Maulana Noorani said that after the fall of the Soviet Union it had become crystal clear the that the America and Britain were working to advance the agenda of the Crusaders, resorting to terrorism to control 56 Islamic countries and their resources.

He said the objective of the barbaric campaign was not only to control the oil assets of the Muslim countries, but to realise the objective of greater Israel.

“They consider Muslims and Islam as a threat to their hegemony, and sooner or later they would head toward Pakistan”, he warned and added that President Pervaiz Musharraf himself had admitted that Pakistan could be targeted.

Bitterly criticising the leaders of the Arab world he said: “Arab and Muslim leaders act as the most obedient servants of the US.”

The MMA chief said that Saddam Hussain did not succumb to President Bush’s threats and resisted his aggression for 21 days, but our rulers, despite possessing the nuclear capability, could not withstand a telephone call.

He said the MMA firmly believed in the supremacy and independence of the parliament and whatever power the parliament was vested with in the 1973 constitution, it must be respected.

He said the MMA could not get its nominee elected as president, but no one else could also get their candidate elected as president without the MMA’s support. He said the MMA also desired the prime minister to be powerful, and the military leaders to be with the spirit of Mahmood Ghaznavi.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed spoke of the “threats confronting the Muslim Ummah” and stressed the need for unity.

He said that Pakistan’s nuclear and missile program was considered a threat by the US, Israel and India, and they would try to target the country like they were targeting Iraq and North Korea.

“ Under these circumstances, Pakistan needs a full-time chief of army staff and professional forces to defend the frontiers of country, and not those who involved themselves in politics,” he said.

He said the MMA wanted the government to complete the process of general elections in accordance with the Supreme Court’s verdict, as the president of the country had not been elected as per the criteria laid down for the election of president in the constitution.

“The MMA opposes the Legal Framework Order (LFO) because General Pervaiz Musharraf has concentrated all powers in himself,” he said and added that in order to strengthen democracy, and for the superiority of the parliament, the present government should support MMA’s point of view on the LFO issue.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed was of the view that the inclusion of illegal amendments in the constitution was a serious blow to the provincial autonomy, as the provincial governments felt helpless in resolving domestic issues after the issuance of the LFO.

He said the although the MMA had held talks with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and others, the alliance remained firm on the LFO issue. He said # the deadlock was “due to the rigid attitude of General Musharraf.

He said that foreign forces, in collaboration with their associates here, had tried to divide the country on ethnic and linguistic basis, but the Ulema had managed to form the MMA to provide an alternate leadership.

Criticising the OIC, he said the body had neither the capacity nor the will to unite the ummah and defend its integrity. Therefore, he said, the ummah would have to rise and resist the imperialist onslaught.

Qazi Hussain Ahmad said that the rulers of the country were living in a fools paradise if they thought they and Pakistan were safe after becoming a part of the so-called international coalition against terrorism. He pointed out that the US had declared that the countries who possessed weapons of mass destruction should learn lessons from the fate of Iraq.

“Pakistan cannot face the coming deluge without political stability, and the present government fails to fulfil this requirement,” he said.

Naib Amir JI, Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, speaking on the occasion, said Gen Musharraf would have to change his stance to take the country out of the present crisis.

The JI’s Karachi Amir, Dr Merajul Huda and deputy parliamentary leader of the MMA in the Sindh Assembly, Nasarullah Shajee, also spoke on the occasion.