Umer Farooq, Special to Arab News

ISLAMABAD, 18 January 2004 — Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday declared a holy war against extremism.

In his first speech in Parliament, the president said: “I appeal to you and the people of Pakistan to wage a jihad (holy war) against extremism.”

Musharraf said Pakistan would use force against foreign elements who commit terrorist acts inside Pakistan and in Afghanistan using Pakistani border areas as a base.

Noisy hecklers from opposition parties shouted for Musharraf to quit office as he made his first-ever speech to Parliament since seizing power in a military coup more than four years ago. Members belonging to the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition staged a walkout.

Musharraf’s political foes also claimed that the government purposely diverted flights from Islamabad that were carrying at least three opposition lawmakers to attend the speech.

A Pakistani International Airlines official, Imran Gardezi, blamed the diversions on a bomb hoax, but Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said they were due to “technical reasons.” An airport official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said one plane was diverted because of poor weather.

Musharraf, who survived two assassination attempts last month, spoke on the needs to crush terrorism, to keep Pakistan’s nuclear weapons secure and prevent proliferation, and to resolve the long-standing conflict with India over the divided territory of Kashmir.

“A few people are committing the curse of extremism in our society ... who want to impose their narrow-minded ideas on others,” Musharraf said.

Opposition legislators chanted “Go Musharraf, go Musharraf” and “Friends of dictators are traitors” as soon as he took the podium. They kept up the cry throughout his 40-minute speech.

Tehmina Daulatana, a vocal opponent of Musharraf, and at least two other opposition lawmakers were on board a flight from Lahore that was forced to sit on the Islamabad runway for 50 minutes without disembarking passengers before being diverted to Peshawar.

A separate flight from the southern city of Karachi was forced to return there. There was no immediate indication that any opposition members were on board.

Daulatana, like other passengers, was not informed about the reason for the diversion and alleged that it was intended to prevent her from attending the speech, saying: “What kind of general is he who is scared of a woman?”

Amid accusations that Pakistani nuclear technology has proliferated to Iran, Libya and North Korea, Musharraf promised to strengthen Pakistan’s deterrent while stressing the need to “assure the world that we are a responsible nation and will not let nuclear weapons spread.”