US wants to promote unrest in the region: Rehman

Leader of Opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has alleged that the US wants to promote unrest in the region to justify its military presence in the area.

Lahore, Aug 9 : Leader of Opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has alleged that the US wants to promote unrest in the region to justify its military presence in the area.

Rehman said although the US consistently talked of peace, its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq had only intensified war in the two Islamic countries, resulting in killings of thousands of Muslims.

The Dawn quoted him as saying that war against terror was, in fact, war against Islam.

The threats by US presidential hopeful Senator Derek Obama that Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina could also be targeted, clearly showed American designs against the Islamic world.

He deplored that the Islamic countries had not reacted against the provocative threat as strongly as they should have.

"It appears that their conscience is in deep slumber," Rehman said.

Commenting on US strikes on US strikes on al Qaeda safe havens in tribal areas of Pakistan, he said such a step would weaken the writ of the NWFP government and increase cross-border infiltration.

He said for its short-term interests the US was pressuring Pakistan to formulate such policies as were against its own long-term interests.

Rehman advised the government to stop killing its own people.

He said Pakistan was already doing its best to deal with the cross-border infiltration problem and should not be pressured unnecessarily.

ANI