Deputy Secretary General Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and Chairman, Co-ordination Committee of All Parties Majlis-i-Amal Tahafuz Khatm-e-Nabuwat, Senator Hafiz Hussain Ahmad has demanded of the government to declare the US ambassador in Pakistan as 'persona non grata' and expel him on account of his undue interference in the country's internal affairs.
While addressing a press conference here along with other office-bearers of the committee here on Monday, Hafiz Hussain Ahmad apprised the media men about deliberations made in the two-day meeting of the co-ordination committee. He alleged that America is making undue interference in the country's internal affairs. The removal of religion column from the passport was one of the steps taken by the government to please the US authorities, he added.
"The US ambassador's offer of extending help to the Pakistan government for foiling the MMA's movement against the removal of religion column, is an interference in the country's internal affairs," he added.
Giving the background of religion column in the passport, he said the government, headed by late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, had declared Ahmadi and Qadiani groups and followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad non-Muslims through an amendment in the Constitution in 1974. After this, most of the Qadiani leaders migrated to England, while some of them, pretending to be Muslims, went to African countries for preaching of Qadianiat.
However, the religious leaders of the African countries contacted Pakistani authorities and religious scholars and a delegation went to those countries to inform them about the government's decision.
In the light of recommendations of the delegation members, the then government decided to introduce religion column in the passport as well as National Identity Card with an affidavit in the application form for the identity of Muslims, he added.
BASELESS: Hafiz Saheb said: "It is absolutely baseless to say that the religion column cannot be included in machine-readable passport due to technical reasons." According to him, the authorities took this decision on the directions of General Musharraf. The deletion of words 'Islamic Republic' in the English language from the title page of the passport is also part of the move to please western countries, he observed.
He said the representatives of ARD at an APC held in Islamabad on December 18, 2004 had agreed to launch a struggle for restoration of religion column in the passport. PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also supported the inclusion of religion column while the Federal Minister for Religious and Minorities Affairs, Ijazul Haq, also supported the same.
He also rejected the government's intention to seek consultancy on the issue of religion column in passport from all the provincial assemblies. "Our protest is aimed at taking back the powers of General Pervez Musharraf so as the parliament could take decisions on the issues of national importance," he said.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmad claimed that a Qadiani leader, Dr Mubashar Ahmad, had arranged a reception in honour of General Musharraf during his recent visit to America.
The Indian Qadiani leaders, who also attended the reception, requested Musharraf to remove the column of religion from the Pakistani passport. Dr Sadia Chaudhry, who is advisor to the Punjab chief minister, is a close member of Dr Mubashar Ahmad's family. "The Qadianis have close relations with the present government," he said.
AGITATION PLAN: To a question about the MMA's agitation plan, Hafiz Hussain Ahmad said it would continue as per schedule already announced. "We are awaiting the ARD decision for launching a joint movement against Musharraf," he said.
The Majlis-i-Amal is holding rallies on Friday. Qazi Hussain Ahmad would lead the rally in Islamabad, Liaquat Baloch in Lahore, Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Peshawar, Munawar Hassan and Allama Ghafoor Haideri in Karachi.
To another question, he said the decision taken by the NA business advisory committee regarding schedule of the National Assembly sessions in the year 2005, is not being implemented. "The government is afraid of convening the National Assembly session so that debate on unconstitutional steps could be avoided," he added.
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