LAHORE, Aug 2: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal chairman Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani on Saturday defended the “give-and-take” policy adopted by the religious parties in their talks with the government to steer the country out of the constitutional impasse created by the three-year military rule and to thwart the desire of the ‘camel to stay in the tent’ keeping the elected representatives out in the cold.

At a news conference here, he said if the parties in the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy wanted to drag their feet on further talks with the government, “it will be their individual decision, with which we’ll have nothing to do”.

Maulana Noorani questioned the credentials of the ARD as a parliamentary party, saying since the PPP and the PML-N had contested the last year’s general elections under different symbols, they could not form a parliamentary group. He made it clear that the MMA would deal with the two major components of the ARD in their individual capacities, not as an alliance.

ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan has recently set up ARD’s parliamentary party to enable the alliance to lay claim on the coveted office of the opposition leader. He has also named opposition leader and his deputy.

The MMA claims that since it is numerically stronger than the rival alliance, it will be justified in nominating Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the office. Its assertion that the PPP and the PML-N are two separate entities will further strengthen its claim for the opposition leader’s slot.

MMA Information Secretary Pir Ijaz Hashmi, JUP Secretary-General K M Azhar, Punjab JUP President Qari Zawwar Bahadur and others were also present at the news conference.

Maulana Noorani said that the MMA’s desire to find a solution to the crisis through talks should not be taken as the alliance’s eagerness to join the government. Had the alliance been keen in power, it could have joined the setup shortly after the elections when the PML-Q had offered it posts of deputy prime minister, the Senate chairman and the NA speaker, he explained.

He said the MMA wanted to keep the 1973 Constitution uncontroversial and the target could be achieved by “not welding the LFO with it”.

He pointed out that the government had accepted the MMA’s point of view on the issue and it was for this reason that after the July 27 meeting of heads of parliamentary parties Information Minister Sheikh Rashid had said that ‘controversial issues’ had come under discussion.

He said it was in that meeting that the MMA had demanded that parties not invited then should be approached afresh. It was regrettable that it was reported subsequently that the ARD had boycotted the talks, although the ARD had no parliamentary party nor such an alliance was registered with the Election Commission.

Maulana Noorani said the MMA had asked the prime minister to prepare a package of constitutional amendments before calling the next meeting of heads of parliamentary parties or a session of the National Assembly. He was emphatic that religious parties alliance still held the same view and by adopting any other course the government would be violating the agreement reached with opposition parties.

In response to a question, he said it was a fact that some parties were not willing to accept Gen Musharraf in uniform. But, he said, the MMA had prepared its strategy keeping in sight the ground realities. He said the reality was that the “camel has entered the tent” and it has to be ejected tactfully.

He pointed out that Gen Musharraf had overstayed as COAS but political parties had not been able to oust him. Prudence now required that he should be given a safe exit. In his opinion it was a headway that the general who until recently had been insisting that it should be left to him when he would part with his military uniform, was now willing to quit after one year.

The MMA chief said his alliance had difference of opinion with the government on many foreign policy issues. For example, it was opposed to the Afghan policy which had resulted in the induction in Kabul of a pro-India government.

The MMA was also opposed to the US control over various Pakistani bases or the FBI operations in the country.

He said religious parties would also oppose any decision to send Pakistani troops to Iraq to serve as a shield to US occupation forces.