JI counter MMA

LAHORE: After JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to let the Jamaat-e-Islami join the revived MMA a fortnight ago, the JI has responded by roping in six religious parties to establish a counter-MMA religious alliance, sources told The News. The decision to form the proposed religious alliance against the MMA was taken at a meeting of top leaders of six religious parties at the residence of JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch recently, which was participated by JUI-Sami group’s secretary general Maulana Abdur Rauf Farooqi, Syed Yousuf Shah and Makhdoom Aasim, JUI- Ideological’s Maulana Zubair Khan Al Bazi and Maulana Ataullah Bukhari, JUP-Sawad e Azam’s Pir Mahfuz Mashhadi and Muhammad Khan Leghari, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’s Dr Khadim Husain Dhillon, Shamsur Rahman Moavia and Rao Javed Iqbal and Jamiat Ahle Hadith’s Ibtesam Elahi Zaheer. According to sources, the meeting was called on the special instructions of JI Ameer Syed Munawwar Hasan, JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat leader Maulana Muhammad Ahmad Ludhianvi to prepare the groundwork and set the modalities of the proposed alliance. It was decided that a formal announcement about the alliance and its manifesto would be decided and announced later, after Maulana Samiul Haq returned after performing Haj next week. The meeting unanimously decided in favour of a broad-based political and electoral alliance to realise the objectives of the creation of Pakistan and to rid the country of the US slavery by enforcing the Islamic Shariah. Without taking any names, it was decided that no links would be maintained with those elements who remained the B-team of Gen Musharraf for five years and Asif Zardari for the last four years. The participants felt that an “alliance of religious parties” was imperative for launching a meaningful, democratic struggle to get rid of the corrupt government headed by “US slaves like Asif Zardari” to solve the problems of price spiral, unemployment, extortion, target killings, for organising the masses against the loot and plunder of the rulers, for ending military operation and exploitation in Fata and Balochistan, for the recovery of missing persons, for freeing the people of Karachi from extortion and abductions for ransom, and for evolving a honorable foreign policy for the country and throwing away the yoke of US slavery. Meanwhile, talking to the media, Liaquat Baloch said the religious parties should become independent and should not do politics under President Zardari’s umbrella since he was a US slave and an extension of the Musharraf regime. He said elections had become inevitable and whoever tried to run away from the elections would invite his political death. He said the Constitution provided a five-year period for an elected government and no one had the authority to extend it. To a question, he said he had no personal differences with the JUI’s Maulana Fazlur Rahman. To another question, Liaqat Baloch said that efforts were underway for a new alliance in Karachi against the MQM. By Asim Hussain.