JEDDAH, 26 January 2005 — Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and chief of the main opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), said the unrest in Balochistan required a political solution.
In an interview with Arab News yesterday, the 67-year-old said the military regime was not capable of solving the country’s political problems. “Balochistan is a political problem. It should be solved by political means; therefore, a political government should be in place to deal with the situation.”
Qazi Hussain holds the military regime of Gen. Pervez Musharraf accountable for the deterioration of law and order in the troubled state. “It is because of their wrong policies that some of the chieftains have the power of blackmail,” he said. He was referring indirectly to the Bugti tribesmen and their chief Sardar Akbar Bugti. On Jan. 11, the Bugtis attacked the country’s largest gas-producing plant at Sui after local police accused an army captain of raping a female doctor working there. The attack left half the country without needed supplies of gas. “No doubt some people or some tribal chieftains are bent on blackmailing. Nobody should agree to blackmail... But who created these chieftains in the first place?” the MMA chief asked.
Qazi Hussain has categorically refused to join the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) which is also opposed to Musharraf’s regime. Among others, it clubs two key political parties — Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). “We will not join ARD but we can have coordination between MMA and ARD. Yes, we have approached the ARD and they have also approached us; we can make an arrangement and have coordination to achieve a common objective. But ARD is a separate body and we are a separate body. We have got an agenda and a constitution. MMA is more coherent. It is an electoral alliance. This is one party, as far as Parliament is concerned, with one manifesto and one constitution. ARD is a loose alliance of different groups. They are not politically aligned with each other. PML (N) and the PPP are essentially political rivals. There is no question of uniting with them.”
Qazi Hussain, who comes from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), said the campaign against Musharraf was gaining momentum. “The guarded response to our recent call against him is only because we have restrained the people from creating a chaotic situation,” he said. “We are systematically advancing toward our goal of ousting the present military dictator through political and democratic means,” he added.
He was evasive on the subject of possible elections. “If there are elections, we are ready. Even if the National Assembly completes its tenure, we will still campaign against Musharraf until he ceases to be the chief of army staff.” For the MMA, he said, “An ideal situation is where Musharraf becomes a civilian president and hands over all the powers to Parliament and the majority party.” He said the MMA would not enter into any negotiations (with the president) “until Musharraf fulfills his promise to the whole nation that he would leave the army chief’s post.” Qazi Hussain said the army should confine itself to its constitutional role. “The constitution is clear that the army should never interfere in political affairs. According to Article 242, every army officer is under oath that he will not interfere in any way in the political affairs. It is very clear.”
He accepted that the MMA was unable to do what “we wanted to do in the provinces where we are either ruling or are a part of a ruling coalition... the central government controls everything in the country. Provincial governments have limited power.”
Regarding the general situation in the Muslim world, he said: “Islam is for the service of humanity. It is not terrorism or extremism. Unless justice is done to the Muslim people, peace will not return to the world. Everybody deserves justice while injustice must be resisted.”
