PESHAWAR, Dec 26: Jamaat-i-Islami NWFP chief and former senior minister Sirajul Haq has said that there are serious differences whithin the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal over the issue of resignations from parliament.

He said that efforts would be made to develop consensus over the issue and save the alliance.

“We want to keep the alliance intact and strive for achievement of our goals,” Mr Siraj said while talking to mediapersons here on Tuesday.

“The stance of Qazi Hussain Ahmad on resignations is clear, but some component parties of the MMA are against resignations,” he pointed out.

He said that if the MMA members resigned from parliament at this stage, the alliance would be endangered.

He said that during his Peshawar visit, he addressed various public gatherings and found great enthusiasm and love for the MMA among people.

“This shows that MMA’s success in the 2002 election was not temporary,” he said.

“I hope people will support the MMA with renewed zeal and we will show better performance in the next election than the previous one.”

Criticising President Musharraf, he said that people were sick of the continuing military rule.

“We have lost our freedom. Our frontiers are insecure and sovereignty is in danger,” Mr Siraj said.

He said that President Musharraf lent support to NATO and US troops and justified it by saying that it had helped the country achive economic progress.

But the fresh report released by the State Bank shows that price-hike would swell by 5.4 per cent in 2007. The report adds that industrial development has shown downward trend from 11.9 to 5.11 per cent, which is the worst downfall in the past 20 years.

“This indicates that economy has collapsed, instead of making progress,” he said.

“The most dangerous thing is that hatred has been created among people against the army due to flawed policies of the military rulers”, he said.

“Now army men can not come out in bazaar in their uniform,” he claimed.

The October 30 attack on a religious seminary in Bajaur was launched by the US without the consent of Pakistan, he said.

It is shameful for the government that it could not present even a single evidence that those “martyred” in the seminary were terrorists and not students.

He said that every proud Muslim of the region would continue his efforts against the women protection bill which was aimed at making the country a ‘free-sex zone’.

“The bill is against Islam, our culture and tradition. We would never let it imposed in our province,” he said.

Replying to a question about by-polls on NA-44 Bajaur, Mr Siraj said that people of the agency did not want re-election on the seat vacated by Haroonur Rashid in protest against attack on a religious institution.

“They will take to the street on Jan 7, with quilts and blankets and stay on roads till the day of elections so that the election drama of the government could not be staged,” he said.