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| India-Pakistan |
| Qazi just hates that verdict |
| 2002-04-28 |
| The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), an alliance of religious parties, was taken aback over the Supreme Court verdict, legalising the holding of referendum in the country, scheduled for April 30. They were shocked. Simply shocked. "The top court has buried the constitution," Chief of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Qazi Hussain Ahmad said while speaking an anti-referendum rally at Shahi Bagh on Saturday. MMA central leaders Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Jamaat chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Naib amir of JUI Hafiz Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Samiul Haq addressed the public meeting. All the usual suspects. Fazl tends to stay in the background, even though he's really the head cheese... Speaking at the public meeting, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who had filed the writ petition against the referendum in the Supreme Court, said that the honourable court's decision had surprised the nation. "There is no place in the country from where the people could seek justice. The court decision has vanished the hope for justice. Now it is up to the people to stand up and fight for their rights," Qazi declared. "So let the riots begin! And bump off any westerners you find, too." The Jamaat chief said that the country's religious parties could play a dominant role in the national and regional politics and could bring radical change in the political, social and economic system of the country. He said that their target was the coming general elections and not the referendum and urged the MMA workers to defeat US agents in the general elections. That's the whole intention, to build up the old power base. For all their screaming and hollering and rioting, they haven't managed to win more than five percent of the vote in elections. They think they've got a handle on that now, with the U.S. to point to and the specter of secularism to raise. Guess we'll find out if that tack works come October. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |