ISLAMABAD, 26 March 2003 — The head of the six-party religious alliance has warned that Pakistan could become the next target of the US if Washington feels that Osama Bin Laden is hiding in the country.
Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, chief of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance, also called upon the US military to vacate Pakistani bases for launching an “unjustified” war on Iraq.
“Our government must force the US military apparatus to leave Pakistan as early as possible,” Noorani told IANS. “There is no doubt the American forces were provided with military bases during the war in Afghanistan.”
The MMA emerged as a major force in last year’s general elections and rules Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.
The MMA component parties have held strong mammoth rallies across the country to denounce the US-led military onslaught on Iraq. Noorani warned that Pakistan could be the next US target after Iraq.
“They (US and Britain) can come here on the pretext of pursuing of Al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan,” he said.
“They can falsely prove the presence of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan as they did in the case of Iraq which they accused of having weapons of mass destruction.”
Noorani blasted the Pakistan government for failing to condemn the war on Iraq fearing Washington would be offended.
“They did not want Parliament to do that either. They are apprehensive of choosing words like US aggression,” he said.
Without divulging details, he said the US had full right to operate from two air bases in Pakistan. “We want these vacated,” the MMA chief said.
Noorani said the US military strikes would “add to its enemies in the region. Changes in the governments of the Arab world will, of course, cause serious troubles for Washington that had brought the world to an unfortunate human catastrophe to control the energy-rich Gulf.”
He said nuclear-armed Pakistan had proved to be a weaker state. “After testing its nuclear devices in 1998, still Pakistan is meeting each and every condition of Washington.
