MMA divided over election boycott
Staff Report

ISLAMABAD—MMA supreme council meeting has divided over election boycott issue and has ended without reaching any conclusion on this count due to hard core stance of Maulana Fazl ur Rehman amid the reports the religious grouping leadership has agreed on continuing consultative process on boycott issue.
MMA supreme council met here Saturday under Qazi Hussain Ahmad Saturday. Besides Maulana Fazl ur Rehman, Allama Jalil Naqvi, Sajid Mir, senator Professor Khurshid Ahmad and others attended the meeting.
Talking to the journalists, after the meeting Qazi Hussain Ahmad alleged government had double standard adding the objectives would not be met only through restoration of constitution and lifting of state of emergency. Judges should be restored to November 2 position, he demanded. “We have option of boycotting the elections if our demands are not accepted,”, he announced. However opposition should take final decision on it, he added. “ We are in contact with Maulana Fazl Ur Rehman and Benazir Bhutto, he said adding the committees constituted by APDM would meet both of these leaders. Opposition should mount pressure jointly on government to put in place new interim set up to ensure fairness and transparency in elections, he stressed. MMA component parties would continue consultation process and final decision would be taken in All Parties Conference, he told.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl ur Rehman said “ we will welcome committees set up by APDM. They should convince us on election boycott issue. We will present our arguments before them. This is consultative process which will go on”, he remarked. He observed it would be “ our utmost effort that MMA should stay united. The announcement made by Benazir Bhutto for convening APC is welcome move. The judiciary and constitution should be restored to its November 2 position, he demanded.
Earlier sources told Online Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Maulana Fazl ur Rehman developed differences when Maulana Fazl ur Rehman was insistent on taking part in the elections and he tied to convince leaders of other component parties of religious alliance who participated in the meeting that there was no justification for boycotting election when government had announced to lift emergency and PCO.
Other leaders including Qazi Hussain showed disagreement over it and made it clear on Maulana Fazl Ur Rehman he should support APDM decisions. On one occasion Maulana Fazl Ur Rehman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad exchanged bitter remarks. Maulana Fazl ur Rehman was all set to quit the meeting when Professor Khurshid Ahmad proposed that decision on election boycott be deferred till December 15 and MMA should take decision to boycott the elections after seeing what course the other parties take. All the leaders agreed over it and Maulana Fazl Ur Rehman deferred the decision for boycotting the meeting. The MMA leadership agreed on this point that MMA should contact other parties till December 15 and it should boycott the election only if other parties do so.
JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced to participate in general elections and rejected APDM decision on elections boycott saying there remains no justification for boycotting the elections when government has accepted opposition demand for lifting PCO and emergency. He said this while addressing a press conference here Saturday. Senator Talha and Mufti Ibrar were also present on the occasion. Maulana Fazlur Rehman said decision taken from APDM forum for boycotting the election was wrong saying APDM was not an electoral alliance.