Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday said the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had no objection to the registration of foreigners living in Wana, South Waziristan Agency and other tribal areas. âWe donât oppose the registration process. We want foreigners to register with the departments concerned. But the way the government has handled the entire issue is highly condemnable,â Mr Rehman, who is also the MMA secretary general, told Daily Times in his National Assembly (NA) chambers.
| "If they'da asked nice, everybody woulda signed right up..." |
He said the MMA had tried to convince the foreigners in Wana to register under an agreement with the government, but they did not respond. He said the reason for their resistance to register was that the government had made threatening statements and launched a hasty military operation against them.
| Ummm... I first started noticing the tribal lashkars last October. The military operation was inept, but it wasn't hasty... |
He accused the government of launching a military offensive under US pressure. He claimed that the NWFP governor had summoned MMA leader Maulvi Sirajuddin and told him that the agreement with the foreigners in Wana was not workable.
| Which appears to be a statement of fact... |
The MMA secretary general also said the involvement of intelligence agencies in the murder of Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai could not be ruled out. |