KARACHI: Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC), Sindh, has extended its full support to the strike called on Friday to express solidarity with people of Afghanistan and appealed to the traders, business community, and transporters to close their businesses voluntarily and observe the strike in a peaceful manner.

Addressing a press conference after the MYC Sindh Council meeting, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani said that the strike would be peaceful as the workers and supporters of religious parties did not believe in violence.

He also said that the religious parties would hold rallies and public meetings after strike to express solidarity with people of Afghanistan. However, he declared that no workers and supporter of religious parties would be involved in any law and order situation.

He said the defence of the country was the prime responsibility of every Muslim and every Pakistani and declared that religious parties would play their due role to save the country and its independence.

He said that US President Bush was trying to provoke the religious sentiments of Christian community by using the word crusades. He urged the Ummah to unite against the anti-Islam forces and foil their conspiracies.

The JUP chief said that Pakistan was trapped in a very serious situation following the tragic terrorist attack in America. He said that the MYC believed that the interests of the country were paramount and supreme and advised the regime to act accordingly.

Noorani said that government must play a role in diffusing the situation and ensure that action was taken strictly according to evidence. He suggested that Pakistan must bring other Muslim countries into the picture and together with them ensure that Islam as a whole and the people of Afghanistan were not targeted.

He said that the MYC meeting endorsed the strike call given by the Pak-Afghan Defence Council and condemned President Bush for his negative attitude towards the Ummah. Maulana Noorani said Bush should tender an apology to the Ummah for making derogatory remarks against the Muslim community. He said that in fact the president's remarks exposed his hatred for the Muslims and Islam.

He said that the MYC reviewed the prevailing situation and observed that it was a crucial time for the country and the Ummah and appealed to the Muslim and Christian communities to show tolerance, respect religious sentiments, protect the each other's places of worship and foil the US president's plan to exploit religious differences.

He said that the MYC condemned the terrorist attacks in America and expressed grief over the deaths of innocent people. He said the meeting also condemned state terrorism with the support of America and Israel against the people of Bosnia, Palestine, and Kashmir and the bombing and economic blockade of the Iraq, which had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

He said that the MYC demanded of the Islamic countries to move a resolution in the UNO against the state terrorism of the US and Israel and declare them terrorist states. Noorani said that the Ulema believed that Jewish lobby was responsible for terrorist activities in America and pointed out that it might be an act of revenge by the lobby on the defeat of Al Gore's Jewish running mate, Liebermann, in the presidential election.

He said that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, was responsible for this terrorist attack and asked why the Israeli prime minister cancelled his visit and why 4,000 Jews working at the World Trade Centre went on leave just before terrorists attacked New York and Washington.

The MYC also adopted another resolution in which the council demanded of the regime not to allow the US to use Pakistani airspace and soil for the attack on Afghanistan. Noorani said that the meeting believed that America wanted permanent station in Pakistan to monitor nuclear programme of the country and to spying on neighbouring countries.

The meeting was attended by Prof Shah Faridul Haq, Muhammad Ahmad Siddiqi, Hafiz Taqi, Siddiq Rathore, Asadullah Bhutto, Qari Usman, Muhamad Hussain Mehanti, Maulana Abdul Karim Abid, Sahibzada Abulkhair M Zubair, Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Farooqi, M Arshad Zahid, Faizullah Adaz, Maulana Qasim Mehmood, Maulana Abdul Wakil, Mufti Usman Khan, Mujahid Channa, Maulana Hasan Turabi and Hafiz Mushtaq Abbasi.