LAHORE, Nov 07: Jamaat-e-Islami has announced to step up the anti-Musharraf movement by launching Civil Disobedience Movement from November 15, the day the illegal term of Gen Musharraf's uniformed presidency would come to an end.

This was announced by JI Lahore ameer and MMA Lahore president and former MNA Hafiz Salman Butt, while addressing a press conference at Mansoorah along with JI information secretary Ameerul Azim, former MPA Chaudhry Shaukat and others.

Hafiz Salman Butt said Nov 15 will be observed as a country wide Black Day as citizens will be mobilized to display black flags on houses, wear black bands and come out on streets to form a chain of human hands to express solidarity with the suppressed nation and hatred against the military dictator and his team of exploiters and opportunists.

He said it was high time all political parties supporting Gen Musharraf openly or covertly should give up dual policy, adopt a clear cut stance on the issue of military dictatorship since now there was no room for having any kind of contacts with Gen Musharraf. He harshly condemned the victimization of superior judiciary and the judges going by the constitution to give judgments against the interests of military dictatorship.

The Jamaat leader expressed sorrow that judges were put under house arrest and lawyers and political workers were subjected to worst kind of police torture. He said now Gen Musharraf has also virtually closed the doors of courts for the masses after having deprived them of the justice. He said Musharraf's pro-Washington policies and whimsical dictatorship has led the country to a situation where it had literally become an easy prey for enemies should any country like USA, India or Israel try to attack since half of the population was literally up in arms against their own army.

He said the call of civil disobedience would be given in phases after consultation with the MMA and APDM leaderships. In the first phase the people would be called to stop paying utility bills since these taxes from people form the salaries of the army and the police which were being used to unleash cruelties and torture the same people. He said now the people have a single slogan that Gen Musharraf should be hanged for subverting the constitution.

Hafiz Sahib warned that by antagonizing the people against their own army and unleashing worst kind of atrocities against them Gen Musharraf was paving the way for US occupation of Pakistan. He ridiculed what he called mere rhetoric and cosmetic statements by Washington, European Union and the west against the Emergency rule, saying they were not blind to see it was practically a martial law where constitution was suspended, all fundamental rights were suspended and Judiciary was dismissed. He said nation had rejected the judges taking oath under PCO and those who refused oaths were the real heroes of the nation since they stood against the dictatorial regime. (#)


                                              ---------------------------------------------