Siraj tells SC to build consensus on general elections

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Sirajul Haq has said that if the Supreme Court wants to play a role in elections issue, it should take all the stakeholders on board and build consensus on national polls.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said general elections instead of polls in two provinces could bring stability. He said the JI has closely observed the politics of so-called big parties and also entered into alliances with a few of them in the past for the country's sake. But now the JI had decided to stay away from them in future.

“We would go to the elections on our own symbol. We have nominated our contestants on all national and provincial assembly seats.” The JI, he said, would gather them in Islamabad on March 9 and announce its future strategy. The central government targeted the poor at the direction of the IMF, imposing billions of rupees of taxes on the masses.

The government, he said, was not willing to take action against those with properties abroad and foreign bank accounts. Among them, he added, were top politicians, bureaucrats, retired judges and generals. He said 18 powerful politicians, industrialists and property tycoons own Rs4,000 billion.

Still, they paid taxes equal to the common man, and no institutions had the courage to question them about their properties, he added. Haq demanded the Election Commission complete the process of local government polls in Karachi, announce results in six UCs and hold polls in 11 other constituencies where elections were postponed due to different reasons.

Siraj warned the provincial government of Sindh not to interfere in local bodies' polls and influence the ECP. If the influence continued, he said the people of Karachi would take to the streets.

He demanded of the Supreme Court take notice of private prisons run under waders and cruel feudal lords in parts of the country. He also demanded the government give rights to the people of Gwadar and release Gwadar Rights Movement leader Maulana Hidayatur Rahman and his colleagues.

He said the law and order situation had worsened in Balochistan and KP. The federal and provincial governments and security institutions have failed to protect the life and property of the masses.