[Dawn] JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has shown his willingness to quit the government for the sake of revival of Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA). Talking to reporters after a luncheon meeting he hosted for leaders of the erstwhile alliance on Wednesday, the Maulana said the MMA leaders had come out of dormancy and agreed to continue their contacts till achieving their objectives.
Sources said that all the participants except those belonging to JUI-F demanded of Maulana Fazl to quit the government before going for talks on reviving the MMA. The Maulana agreed that if it was necessary for the success of what he termed an anti-American campaign he would quit the coalition.
The MMA, which had contested the 2002 elections and supported former president Pervez Musharraf on the issue of 17th amendment, broke apart on the question of boycotting the last general election.
Answering a question over whether the leaders had agreed to the revival of MMA, the Maulana said: "We have not decided as yet on revival but we are heading towards that end and have decided to continue meeting each other till that objective is achieved."
He said the participants agreed that the frequent drone attacks on tribal areas were in fact attacks on Pakistan.
The sources said the participants were perturbed over the growing American pressure on Pakistan, adding that it was said at the meeting that as long as JUI-F was part of the government no anti-US campaign could be successful.
Former amir of Jamaat-i-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad attended the meeting in place of the incumbent party chief, Syed Munawar Hasan. Among the other important leaders who attended the meeting are: Allama Sajid Ali Naqvi, Dr Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair, Prof Sajid Mir, Pir Abdul Rahim Naqshbandi, Qari Zawar Bahadur, Liaquat Baloch and Qari Abdul Ghafoor.
It was first time that Maulana Fazl hosted such a large gathering of Ulema and newsmen at his residence.