Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

India-Pakistan

Qazi, Fazl lose Hafiz Hussain's resignation

2007-10-01

Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) leader and member of the National Assembly (NA) Hafiz Hussain Ahmad’s resignation, which he had submitted to MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmad and MMA central leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been misplaced, a private channel reported on Sunday. Hafiz Hussain told Geo news that he had given copies of his resignation to Fazl and Qazi, but was told by both that they had lost his resignation. He said he himself would go to the NA on Monday and present his resignation to the NA speaker. Hafiz said he was resigning from the NA in protest against the Women’s Protection Act, 2007.

Link

India-Pakistan

Introduction of Women's Protection Act: Pakistani rulers have invited divine wrath: JD

2007-08-03

Jamaatud Dawa (JD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed said on Thursday that Pakistani rulers had invited divine wrath by scrapping the Hudood Ordinance and introducing the ‘un-Islamic’ Women’s Protection Act in its place. Hafiz Saeed told a JD meeting that ever since the new act was implemented every step the government took generated trouble for it. He said rulers should not expect any improvement in the crises faced by Pakistan till they asked for forgiveness for ‘ridiculing’ Islamic laws. The meeting – held between the JD central leadership – discussed the current situation in the country. Hafiz Abdur Rahman Makki, Maulana Ameer Hamza, Saifullah Mansoor, Saifullah Khalid, Muhammad Yahya Mujahid and Hafiz Khalid Waleed were in attendance. Hafiz Saeed said JD had collection 11.5 million signatures against the Women’s Protection Bill during its public signature collection campaign. However, the rulers ignored the solid verdict by the people of Pakistan.

Link

India-Pakistan

MMA withdraws decision to resign from assembly

2007-02-14

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on Tuesday withdrew its decision to resign from the National Assembly, and unanimously elected Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman president and secretary general of the six-party religious alliance for another two years. The party also decided to end its boycott of the National Assembly. “After a lengthy debate on the issue, the MMA central council decided to withdraw its decision of parliamentary resignations,” MMA Deputy Secretary General Liaquat Baloch told a press conference at Qazi Hussain Ahmed’s residence. “The Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan wanted to go ahead with parliamentary resignations in protest at the Women’s Protection Act, but the other parties – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Senior and Pakistan Islami Tehrik – opposed this decision,” said Baloch. However, he said that the option of parliamentary resignations would remain open, and the MMA would quit if all other opposition parties went for en-bloc resignations from the NA in the future. He said that the council was of the view that the current situation at the national and international levels was dangerous, therefore the MMA should not resign. Baloch said a meeting of the MMA parliamentary party would be held at Parliament House today. He said that the elections for the MMA’s central offices had also been completed, and Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had been unanimously elected president and secretary general of the alliance.

Link

India-Pakistan

Qazi, Fazl spar over resignations

2007-01-10

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the six-party alliance’s secretary-general, continued sparring over the issue of resignations from parliament following a ‘grand jirga’ of NWFP parliamentarians here at Frontier House on Tuesday. “The MMA Supreme Council is the body to take the final decision on resignations from the National Assembly,” said Qazi. Fazl was quick to respond that his Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) party had already decided that it would not resign from the NA. He added that he would not allow any MMA member to quit parliament in protest at the Women’s Protection Act. Settle this like true sons of Allan, gentlemen. Scimitars at one pace. However, both later told reporters that there were no differences in the MMA. I agree. It's the same old tired posturing, pouting, preening, and pomposity day after day after day. The two held separate meetings with NWFP Chief Minister Akram Duranni and Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan. Sources told Daily Times that the MMA’s internal differences and national politics were discussed at the meetings. The sources said that Qazi demanded that the government conduct an inquiry into the bombing of a madrassa in Bajaur Agency before the by-election to a National Assembly seat there, vacated by MMA member Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid, that is due today. Fazl said the present assemblies could not re-elect President General Pervez Musharraf.

Link

India-Pakistan

Qazi unlikely to step down as MMA president

2007-01-09

Qazi Hussain Ahmed will not quit as president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and his recent statement that he wants to resign was only a message of anger to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), MMA sources told Daily Times on Monday. Even if Qazi tries to step down, the MMA Supreme Council will not accept his resignation, the sources said. “Currently the leaders of all MMA parties are in favour of Qazi as president and if he tries to quit his resignation will be rejected,” said the sources. Qazi is a strong proponent of the idea that MMA legislators must quit parliament, in protest at the Women’s Protection Act, but is being opposed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of the JUI-F. The sources said Qazi’s threat to quit was an expression of anger at Fazl.

Link

India-Pakistan

No by-elections if we vacate seats: Qazi

2006-12-27

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) would not allow the government to hold by-elections on seats vacated by the party’s parliamentarians, declared MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed while referring to possible en bloc resignations in protest against the Women’s Protection Act, at an ulema convention held at the JI office Tuesday. The en bloc resignations of MMA parliamentarians have been deferred due to differences of opinion in the MMA’s parliamentary committee. The issue would be discussed by the MMA supreme council and those who want to resign should be allowed to, but those who did not want to should register their protest against the Women’s Protection Act in parliament. Qazi Hussain said that the government would have to quit. He also urged religious scholars to mobilise public opinion for resistance to imperialist and colonialist powers and their agents.

Link

India-Pakistan

Only one JI MNA refuses NA perks

2006-12-21

Only one MNA of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has so far formally asked the National Assembly Secretariat not to give him his salary and allowances, after JI Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmed announced that his party’s MNAs would not receive perks and privileges as a mark of protest against the Women’s Protection Act. Muhammad Hussain Mehanti has told the officials concerned in writing to stop his salary as MNA, sources in the NA Secretariat told Daily Times on Wednesday. The salary of Qazi Hussain has been going directly to the Al-Khidmat Foundation, a welfare organisation of the JI, since day one, the sources said. The Jamaat has 28 MNAs in the National Assembly. “The salaries of all MNAs are deposited in their prescribed accounts. We will continue to deposit salaries in their accounts until told otherwise,” the officials said.

Link

India-Pakistan

'Resign or face God's judgment'

2006-12-13

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmad has written letters to all the treasury members of the Senate and the National assembly asking them to resign voluntarily or they would be answerable to God for supporting the un-Islamic Women’s Protection Act (WPA). In his two-page letter, Qazi has asked the parliamentarians to read the book on Islamic laws written by Prof Khurshid Ahmed accompanying the letter and then decide if their decision of supporting the WPA was correct. The government, he said, wanted to make Pakistan a secular state and promote obscenity following the agenda of the US and Europe. Begum Mehnaz Rafi, member of the Standing Committee for Women’s Development in the National Assembly, told Daily Times that she had received the letter but would not reply to it. She said she wanted to ask Qazi why his team and he had not resigned from the National Assembly after the house passed the bill.

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-S to start its own anti-WPA campaign

2006-12-12

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) has decided that it will start a “Deen Bacho Tehreek” (save the religion movement) against the Women’s Protection Act (WPA) and contact other religious parties and clerics for their support, party sources told Daily Times on Monday. The sources said that the JUI-S had also decided to hire lawyers to challenge the WPA in the Supreme Court. They added that these decisions were taken in the JUI-S Majlis Shura meeting held at Akora Khattak a few days ago. The sources said that the meeting also formed four provincial and one central committees to plan the anti-WPA campaign. The sources said that party chief Maulana Samiul Haq warned the meeting that the government’s next “target” would be amendments to the blasphemy laws. They added that the meeting pledged to launch a campaign against the government to stop it from “anti-Islamic legislation”. The sources said that the meeting criticised MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Secretary General Maulana Fazlur Rehman for “adopting a friendly behaviour” towards the government. “They (the MMA) are friends of the government and are paving the way for a secular Pakistan,” a participant quoted Haq as telling the meeting.

Link

India-Pakistan

MMA to woo Sami for support against WPA

2006-12-11

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) will try to convince Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq to join the religious alliance in its campaign against the Women’s Protection Act (WPA), MMA sources told Daily Times on Sunday. The sources said that the MMA would contact Haq in a couple of days to seek his party’s support against the WPA. They said that after postponing their decision on resignations from the National Assembly, MMA leaders had decided to contact opposition parties against the WPA. “Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl had agreed at an MMA Supreme Council meeting on December 7 to postpone decision on resignations from the assembly to muster maximum support from the opposition parties against the WPA. Now the party will step up its campaign to contact religious and political parties against the WPA,” a senior MMA leader said. MMA Supreme Council Member Qari Gul Rehman said the alliance would try its best to save the “sanctity” of religion, adding that the opposition was being contacted against the WPA. He said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had responded positively to their suggestions. Samiul Haq said his party always sacrificed for the MMA, but it got nothing from the alliance in return. “The MMA has always supported the government through underhand deals,” Haq said. He said the JUI-S would start an anti-WPA campaign on its own that would be “effective than that of the MMA’s”.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-10 More