LAHORE, Jan 26: JUI amir and MMA secretary-general Maulana Fazlur Rehman proposed on Saturday the establishment of a joint defence command for the Islamic countries to thwart the aggressive US designs against them.
If Iraq was left at the mercy of the United States, no Islamic country would remain safe, the Maulana warned while talking to a group of reporters at the residence of ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan.
He said the US wanted to test its latest weapons on the Islamic countries which was not a healthy thinking. Keeping in sight the US plans, the Islamic countries should forge unity in their ranks, he said.
The US president, the JUI chief said, had no right to dictate who should or should not stay in power in a particular country. Similarly, if America turned against any particular ruler, this did not mean that he should leave the scene.
The Maulana said if the US claimed to be justified in its plans against Iraq, no country was left with any ground to criticize Baghdad for its invasion of Kuwait about a decade ago. Asked what policy should the Pakistan government pursue in the prevailing situation, he said unfortunately the rulers were not in a position to defy the US agenda.
He said he was attaching no hopes with Prime Minister Jamali’s visit to the Gulf states, and it was still more deplorable that before embarking upon the visit, he had not taken political parties into confidence.
The Maulana, who is also a member of the National Assembly, said the religious parties would continue opposing the FBI’s presence in Pakistan, no matter what policy was followed by the rulers. The presence of the US troops in Pakistan negated the sovereignty of the country.
The JUI leader refused to accept the Legal Framework Order as part of the Constitution, saying the basic law could not be amended in any manner except through the procedure laid down in it.
He said the MMA was not saying that all amendments made by Gen Musharraf were absurd and irrational nor was it seeking their en bloc annulment. Instead, he clarified, the reasonable amendments could be retained, but a decision on such amendments could be taken only by parliament.
He believed that ultimately the government would have to give in to the MMA’s point of view on the subject and refer the LFO to parliament.
“You don’t accept Gen Musharraf as legitimate president, but at the same time you are part of parliament given by him. Would one be justified in concluding that you are part of an unconstitutional system”, he was asked.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the general had taken the right step by holding the election and now the MMA wanted to reform the system.
He said religious parties’ alliance was struggling for the restoration of genuine democracy while staying in assemblies.