HYDERABAD, July 13: The deputy chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, said on Thursday that President Gen Pervez Musharraf should resign from both the offices, appoint caretaker governments at the centre and in the provinces and form an independent election commission having administrative and judicial powers which should be acceptable to the opposition parties.

He was talking to journalists at the party’s Markaz Tableegh-i-Islam on Makki Shah road on the occasion of a mango party in honour of the newly-elected governing body of the Hyderabad Press Club.

Deploring lawlessness in Sindh, especially in Karachi, he said 18 people had been murdered in incidents of mobile phone snatching while 180 others were injured and around 26,500 mobile phones were snatched by bandits whereas people were deprived of their cars in an average of one dozen cases a day.

He said announcement was made regarding lifting of ban on jobs of teachers but apprehended that these would be distributed among coalition partners and deserving people would be ignored.

He regretted that Sindh contributes around 70 per cent revenue to national exchequer but its rural areas every four children out of five do not have access to education and a large population remained deprived of potable drinking water.

Condemning excesses against journalists, he said that in Badin a journalist was picked-up by agencies and his whereabouts remained unknown to date. He said that it appeared that journalists were being punished for writing truth. He was quite critical of the fact that government filed statements in courts, denying arrests of newsmen.

He stated that for most of the time in last 60 years the country was governed by army directly while in the remaining period it had direct influence over governments.

He referred to dismemberment of the country in 1971 and said army was ruling over the country then too and said that if army kept ruling the country it would not be able to defend borders which their main job.

He told journalists that opposition parties were united but there was confusion in ruling PML which is quite evident from statements of parliamentary affairs minister Dr.Sher Afgan Niazi and PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on the issue of holding of general elections in 2007. “There is complete unanimity of views among opposition parties that any attempt of president to get himself re-elected by present assemblies would be strongly resisted”, Prof.Ghafoor said while mentioning that all decisions of opposition would be taken after consultation.

He said that resignations by MMA parliamentarians would be submitted following decision of supreme council but re-election of president would be opposed at all cost.

“President Musharraf completed his term as chief of the army staff in October 2001. Now morally and legally he is no more president or chief of the army staff”, the JI leader said adding that 2002 general elections and subsequent by-elections had proved that free and fair elections are not possible under present regime.

He admitted that secret agencies had been interfering in political process in the past but their present interference had no parallel in history.

He said that solution of present political, constitutional and economic crisis of the country was directly linked with stepping down of the President.

”President should resign from both the offices, appoint caretaker governments in the centre and provinces and empower election commission judicially and administratively which is acceptable to people and opposition”, he demanded.

He said that recent decision of the Supreme Court in Pakistan Steel Mills case proved that privatisation deal was not transparent and legal and constitutional obligations were not fulfilled.

Referring to the stock market crash of 2005, he said that press reports suggested that state finance minister Omer Ayub Khan and adviser to the prime minister on finance Dr Salman Shah were involved in the stock mark crisis but now president had held Dr Tariq Hassan, the outgoing chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan responsible.

He reiterated MMA’s stand that Balochistan and North Waziristan crisis should be solved through dialogue instead of use of force.

He added that MMA would launch peaceful movement to be backed by other parties.