The council also expressed its deep concern over "massive irregularities" and "naked acts of terrorism" which claimed 11 lives during the election process.
Only a week ago MMA's acting President and Amir Jamaat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, had threatened a long march to Islamabad in the event of President Musharraf failing to comply with his "constitutional obligation" of putting off the uniform by end 2004, vowing that the alliance would ensure that he stepped down.
Explaining why he was bitterly opposed to the President on this count, he said that it gave the impression of the Army being in control, while MMA wanted to rid the country of army rule and autocracy.
Needless to point out, the two assertions will bring to the fore an element of self-contradiction in the alliance's approach to the role of the Army.
Most people would legitimately conclude that MMA's opposition to a president-in-uniform is owed more to the "impression" of Army being in control and not to the Army control as such.
As for the lament over the loss of lives in acts of terrorism on the election day, it will sound rather insincere in view the glaring lack of concern over suspension of all economic activity from the subsequent three-day strike which was launched on its call.
It will also be recalled that earlier commenting on the ghastly attack on a mosque in Karachi, the MMA acting president had said that differences among various groups and sects of Muslims would eventually benefit the West and the US and appealed to the Ulema of different sects to play their role in preaching harmony and unity among the Muslims.
An organisation seemingly devoted to creating unity of belief, thought and purpose among the Muslims needs doing more than mere asking the Ulema to preach harmony and unity among them.
The ghastly acts of terrorism in many of its forms and manifestations not only inflict heavy losses of life and property, but also add a great deal to the predicament of the people and the country from violent and largely unruly protests against such tragedies, often staged at the call of agitated parties, including the religio-political among them.
Notwithstanding the frequently shifting positions of the parties and factions on the political front, the fact remains that Majlis-i-Amal commands heavy mass support which it can make use of in a devoted fight against terrorism.
Needless to point out, it will be a great service to the cause of Islam, if a more spirited and extensive action was initiated for restoration of peace and promotion of unity and tolerance among various sects of Muslims.
It will also be noted that while crying foul over the West's perception of Muslims' struggle for rights as "Islamic terrorism", as pursued by unscrupulous elements under the misnomer of "Jehad", the religio-political champions of Islam have yet to take up the sacred task of promoting unity to strengthen their cause. Despite the fact that this fake label of "Islamic terrorism" is outrageous to Muslims in large numbers, it has failed to inspire a massive self-corrective action by the society.
For, as earlier pointed out in these columns, Muslims do believe in Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance, which is diametrically opposed to the politics of violence, hatred and intolerance on which terrorism has been fed all these past several decades, while the Ulema remained looking the other way.
More to it, while blowing hot and cold over the unpleasant results of the bye-elections, they seem to have conveniently forgotten that the city of Karachi alone has been profusely bleeding on account of terrorism since as early as 1987, with 96 bombings having taken place in mosques, churches, government offices, buses, trains, hotels, foreign consulates and shopping areas, leaving as many as 350 innocent people dead.
As for the setback to the economy from man-hour losses, it has been simply back-breaking. God forbid, if the nation's economy is crippled under the mounting scourge of this kind, it will lose everything, except vague hope, for its survival. Viewed in this perspective, the need for the Ulema to propagate the true Islamic spirit, focusing the urgency of fighting intolerance, and promoting purposeful unity, as enjoined by the teachings and traditions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), can hardly be over-emphasised.
Time has certainly come for them to fulfil this obligation.