Pakistan’s Islamic Group: Elected Gov’t Solves Crisis of Conflict

Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, spokesman for the Islamic group in Pakistan, confirmed that the current conflict in Pakistan is, unlike what Pervez Musharraf describes as anti-terrorism, a confrontation between all opposition groups and the dictatorial repressive regime of Pervez Musharraf.
 
Aziz pointed out that the Islamic group sees that the only solution for the current conflict is to end the army rule and return civilians back to Pakistani rule.
 
Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, spokesman of the Islamic group in Pakistan, issued these statements specially after the latest developments in Pakistan, including maintaining demonstrations, some militant protests in mosques against what happened in Lal Masjid, like those who occupied a mosque in the Pakistani region of Muhamnad and called it Lal Masjid ( the red mosque).
 
“The conflict is not actually between Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and his government on the one hand and religious schools on the other. The conflict is between imposing UE-Western civilization and eradicating the Islamic culture to change the Islamic identity of Pakistan”, said Aziz.
 
“Changing the educational curricula in religious schools is a part of this integrated project that Pervez Musharraf is trying to impose by force on Pakistani people. However, such official attempts failed – especially in religious schools- because these religious schools have closed ranks to form a national front and managed to reach an agreement with the government, preventing it from conducting any direct or blatant intervention in the schools affairs.”
 
” For their part, the religious schools started to introduce some changes and developments, things which the those schools believed as necessary for their curricula, including teaching computer for students in religious schools, in addition to subjects like English and maths. Due to the agreement between the government and those schools, these subjects have been included in the subjects currently taught inside the religious schools.”
 
Abdul Ghaffar Aziz spoke about the the world”s view to such schools, saying:” In general, the religious schools have been portrayed as strongholds of terrorism and that their students are always under huge pressures as if Pervez Musharraf is exerting huge efforts to eradicate terrorism inside those schools.”
 
And Aziz added:” This huge media machine spawned incidents of hitting Hafsa school, and incidents of Lal Masjid. The most important target from hitting this mosque is to tell the Western world that Pervez Musharraf “s government is actually exerting it is utmost efforts to eradicate strongholds of terrorism.”
 
“The issue of the religious schools is a part of the conflict between Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani people. As for the bigger conflict, it is between the military rule in Pakistan, particularly Musharraf”s rule because he holds all powers in his grip. He is the army chief and the president and he has taking decision powers without seeking the approval of the parliament, the Cabinet or any consultative council.”
“The key obstacle in fron of Musharraf”s rule is the Islamic group and other opposition parties. An 30-party expanded front has been recently formed. This front consists of various religious and national parties. All of them have closed ranks to oust Pervez Musharraf from rule, restore democracy and hold fair and independent elections. These principles have been declared by all these parties in their last month meeting. All parties are currently carrying out heavy popular programs. The world is currently seeing some of their activities in Pakistan.
 
As for the Islamic Group”s own view for solving the current conflict in Pakistan, Abd Al-Ghaffar says ” We see that the solution is in picking a democratically elected government and giving Pakistani people the right and freedom to pick this government. This will be the democratic rule that will help people remain restive in front of the US pressures. This hoped for government will not fire bombs or use weapons against unarmed Pakistani people. This incumbent military rule will definitely come to an end  and will be replaced by an elected government emerging from fair elections under supervision of an independent election committee.”
 
H concludes saying:” This is the group”s view. The group was a key factor in gathering all opposition parties in order to form this expanded front.”