PAS does not depend on the United States for political mileage and, thus, the party will not alter its firm stand against the US strikes on Afghanistan, said its leaders today.

"PAS never hopes for US praise or commendations this has been our stand since day one," said party secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa when contacted.

He stressed the party was not anti-US but was only against US retaliatory strikes which could sacrifice the lives of innocent Afghans.

"We are not supporting any factions or personalities in Afghanistan, we just do not want to see innocent Afghans killed in the US military actions," he said.

Nasharuddin was responding to recent criticism by various national leaders that PAS has tarnished its image as well as Malaysia's reputation internationally with its reactions to the US strikes on Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Gerakan vice-president Dr S Vijayaratnam said PAS has created a misconception in the international community that Malaysia was a fundamentalist state. "The US should review whatever positive perceptions it might have had about PAS," he said.

Call for peace

Last Wednesday, PAS declared a jihad over the US-led attacks in Afghanistan, adding that jihad "covered a wide range of appeals including calling for peace and not just taking up arms".

The party's Youth wing even called on the government to temporarily break its diplomatic and economic ties with the US, Malaysia's largest trading partner, besides urging for military assistance, food and medical support be sent to Afghanistan.

However, Nasharuddin said PAS should not be taken to task for declaring jihad and its other actions.

" Jihad is a religious call. We have said that it ranges from prayer to humanitarian assistance and not just about violence. But this was not highlighted in the media," he said.

"US president George W Bush used 'crusade' when he vowed to seek revenge on those responsible for the Sept 11 attacks. Is it fair to say that PAS is extreme for using the word jihad then?" he questioned.

Peaceful gathering

Nasharuddin also defended the demonstration organised by the party last Friday outside the US embassy.

"It was a peaceful gathering. We were there just to submit a memorandum and not all the demonstrators were PAS members," he said.

The event saw the participation of some 2,500 Muslims, mostly PAS members, who chanted anti-US slogans. This was followed by the handing over of a memorandum by PAS president Fadzil Noor to embassy staff, urging the US to stop its strikes on Afghan civilians.

PAS also came under criticism from the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for "appearing very fanatical about defending Islam" as a pitch for votes. The premier also claimed that "certain quarters" were trying to sour Malaysia-US ties.

But PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar said the government has yet to make a clear stand on the US' 'new war on terror'.

"PAS is not anti-US but we want to point out that US has wronged other countries, Muslim or non-Muslim, with its foreign policy," said Mahfuz when contacted.

"We do not and will never compromise our dignity and belief to get support from the US,"he declared.

The government has taken a cautious stand last week on the Sept 11 attacks and the US retaliatory strikes.

Counter terrorism

Mahathir repeatedly called for international conference on terrorism and pledged support to battle terrorism with other countries. Yet the premier opposed any war against Afghanistan as he argued that innocent people should not be implicated.

However, the premier yesterday said that he was convinced that Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network was involved in the Sept 11 attacks and that action against them was necessary to deter others.

"We are convinced that they were involved in the acts - they are 'allegedly', as they use in legal language, involved," said Mahathir, adding that the government concluded to this after having seen the evidence by the US.

The US government strongly believes Osama was the culprit behind the attacks and had struck retaliatory attacks against the Afghanistan after the Taliban regime refused to hand him over to the Americans.