LAHORE, Nov 8: MMA president and Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmad has demanded that Emergency should be lifted by restoring the judiciary to pre November 3 position, without which the lifting of emergency and holding elections would be meaningless.

He asked that entire nation to start protests against Gen Musharraf and for restoring their fundamental rights, the constitution and the judiciary. He was talking to newsmen Thursday evening at his residence where he has been put under house arrest after some of them managed to climbed over the walls to reach him. Earlier, the heavy police contingent cordoning Mansoorah had refused entry to all other MMA leaders who had reached there to hold MMA supreme council meeting but had to return after police threatened to arrest them.

Qazi harshly condemned the denial of entry to MMA leaders and newsmen, saying it was the worst kind of usurping of fundamental rights and civil liberties of the people by a military dictator.

To a question, he said, Makhdoom Amin Fahim has conveyed him a message from Benazir Bhutto that she wanted to convene All Parties Conference to which he replied that any response to the invitation would be given after consultations among APDM leaderships. Qazi said PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif also contacted him and discussed the prevailing situation and the possibility of joint strategy of the opposition parties. Qazi said he and Nawaz Sharif agreed that sitting together with Benazir Bhutto was possible only after she cancelled her deal with Gen Musharraf and joined the demand of restoring Supreme Court at the pre November 3 position.

Qazi said MMA was also considering to call a national consultation conference in which only those parties would be invited which supported the demand of restoration of Supreme Court on pre November 3 status. Qazi stressed that in fact it should have been the demand of the entire nation including political parties, lawyers, students, workers and civil society.

He said whole nation should also join the protests by lawyers and political workers by raising black flags on houses, wearing black bands on arms, and closing down markets and offices to press the dictators to restore their fundamental rights and liberties. He said MMA and APDM were consulting among themselves and with other opposition parties to chalk out a joint strategy on launching a protest movement against Gen Musharraf.


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