It is make or break for the clerics

Fifty religious and political parties of the right wing are likely to revive a political platform like the defunct Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) for upcoming polls.
The mighty show of power of the religio-political parties alliance Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) is expected here today (Sunday) at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan. The sources within the religious parties were confident of a big gathering. However, they said future alliance of these parties for electioneering was entirely dependant on the Sunday gathering. They said public meetings would be held in all provincial major cities including Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Quetta. They said next public gathering would be held in Liaqat Bagh Rawalpindi on December 20 and these would help them to finalise their future strategy.
During the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf, religious parties gathered on a platform of Pak-Afghan Defai Council over the issue of the US invasion in Afghanistan and later the consortium concluded on the establishment of MMA.
At the same time, several representatives of religious parties were of the view that a platform for joint political struggle was the need of the hour. It is pertinent to mention here that during last several months former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) central leaders, including JUI (F) chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, had been engaged in talks to revive MMA. Many religious leaders are of the view that the religio-political parties alliance would belonged to all sects of Islam as well as all Islamic schools of thoughts.
Announcing to hold public gatherings across the country, Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) has said the US must be told to steer clear of Pakistan as it (Pak) was not an easy prey. During Council’s media briefing here in Lahore, Jamiat-e-Ulema Pakistan Ameer Samaiulhaq said US must refrain from attacking Pakistan’s sovereignty and recognise it as an atomic power just like India. Terming it a clash of civilizations Maulana Samiulhaq said it was an Armageddon between good and evil.
Talking on the occasion Ameer Jamat-ud-Dawah, Hafiz Saeed said NATO’s attack on a Pakistani outpost in Mohmand was a dangerous message conveyed to Pakistan and the religious forces were united.
Jamaat e Islami (JI) Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, while addressing an all parties’ conference under the aegis of the Defa-e- Pakistan Council at a local hotel on Saturday said thousands would throng the Minar-e-Pakistan grounds tomorrow (Sunday), on the call of the Defa’e Pakistan Council and resolve to protect the country’s independence and sovereignty, and to get rid of the elements who had sold the motherland for a few dollars.
He called for bringing to light all the agreements made with the US during the Musharraf rule and scrapping them. He said the Pakistanis were courageous people who would not accept the slavery of the US or India.
Addressing a ceremony held for distribution of ration to the Christian minority by the Al-Khidmat Foundation, he said the minorities in Pakistan enjoyed complete religious freedom and protection. On the other hand, in India which claimed to be the world biggest democracy, the rights of the minorities including the Christians, were denied. Mosques, churches and temples were set on fire and in some cases the members of the minorities had been burnt alive, he said.
During the consultative meeting of the DPC, Awami Muslim League (AML) chairman and PML-Zia group chief Ijaz Ul Haque proposed that public meetings series be continued and also the DPC must be registered as a political party so that the ways be open for an Islamic government in the country but General Hamid Gul opposed the suggestion and said in the first phase, they must concentrate on the announced motives and aims.
The meeting was addressed by Jamat ulDawa Amir Hafiz Saeed, Hafiz Akif saeed, Saif Ullah Khalid, Ibtasam Elahi Zaheer while a large number of religious parties head also attended the meeting.