Qazi, Khan meet Nawaz

By Qamar Jabbar

LAHORE: MMA President Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan met with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in London on Friday and told him that the opposition’s all party conference (APC) could only be result-oriented if all parties agreed on the removal of President Gen Pervez Musharraf before general elections were held, sources said.

A joint struggle by the opposition is the only way of freeing the nation from the clutches of dictatorship, and the pressure of anti-Islamic and anti-Pakistan elements, Qazi told Sharif at the meeting.

Sources said the MMA chief spoke in a highly charged manner over the military action taken against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad. He was of the view that delays in convening the APC had provided the rulers with a chance to take action against religious institutions to appease their foreign masters. Qazi also expressed fear that the government would target other madrassas after taking action against the Ghazi brothers.

PTI’s information secretary for Punjab, Omar Cheema, told Daily Times from London that PTI chief Imran Khan seconded Qazi’s views on the prevailing political situation and stressed the need for a grand alliance of opposition parties to oust the government before the presidential and general elections.

Khan said the military action on Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid had changed the scenario, but added that the conference could turn the whole situation around if the opposition returned to Pakistan with a decision that the removal of the government was their first priority. Cheema added that a detailed discussion was planned on the second day of the APC on the Lal Masjid issue and possible government action against other madrassas. Qazi and Khan also proposed to Nawaz Sharif that consensus should be developed at the APC on holding a joint public meeting at Iqbal Park in Lahore on August 14.

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