Condemning countrywide raids on seminaries, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) on Wednesday announced to hold protest day on Friday. Senior MMA leader Senator Professor Ghafoor Ahmed filed an adjournment motion with the Senate Secretariat, seeking debate on the killings of 24 tribesmen in the US missile attack between last Thursday-Friday night.
The MMA leadership made an impassioned appeal to the masses to participate in the demonstrations to register wrath on the police raids on seminaries and highhandedness against girl students at Jamia Hafsa on Tuesday.
Protest demonstrations and rallies will be taken out after the Juma prayers and religious scholars would speak against the government policies in their sermons.
Some Western media reports alleged that certain seminaries were involved in imparting training to students to carry out attacks on innocent civilians. However, these fell short of pinpointing any specific institution.
Such reports surfaced after the London bombings on July 7 that claimed at least 54 lives, while hundreds of others received injuries.
The decision to this effect came after key leaders reviewed the latest situation with particular reference to the raids and arrests of several clerics and students.
Later, in a joint statement, MMA leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Allama Sajid Naqvi, Maulana Samiul Haq, Shah Fareedul Haq and Maulana Abdul Aziz alleged that the government was resorting to such actions to please US.
They deplored sealing of anti-US newspapers in Karachi and arrest of their employees.
MMA spokesman told Business Recorder that the senators of the alliance would also raise the issue during the Senate session, commencing from July 22, besides seeking a full debate on US missile attack on tribesmen.
He accused the government for hatching a conspiracy to browbeat the MMA and dent its morale vis-à-vis the forthcoming local bodies' elections.
The MMA leaders charged that raids and arrests were being made as per the dictation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"Musharraf has put the country and the nation at stake in order to remain in power," they said, adding that since 9/11 events, Musharraf is continuously retreating.
They contended that the policy of President Musharraf was contrary to the peoples' aspirations with Pakistan being a nuclear state.
The MMA leaders urged the nation to get united on one-point agenda to get rid of President Musharraf, who they said, had made Pakistan a laughing stock in the international community due to his myopic policies.
They alleged that due to the rulers' weakness, Indian forces were continuously killing several Kashmiris every day and intruding into Pakistan to abduct citizens.
They questioned what they called the government's silence on massacre of many Pakistanis in US missile attack.
It was also decided that after holding consultations with the scholars of different schools of thoughts, they would chalk out a strategy against the government ban on Jehad and actions against religious institutions.