Siraj asks ECP why it has failed to hold polls for remaining UCs

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Sirajul Haq on Monday demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) explain why it has failed to hold polls for the remaining 11 union committees even after around two months have passed since the local government elections in Karachi.

Addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI’s city headquarters, Haq told the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to realise its defeat in the LG polls. He said that it would be a great disservice to Karachiites and complete injustice to Karachi if the PPP negates the decision made by the people. He vowed that the JI would form the local government in the city, saying that the Sindh chief minister needs to rid himself of his wishful thinking about the mayor’s office.

He maintained that the JI has already won 358 wards but the PPP leadership is adamant on installing a mayor loyal to the PPP, and this attitude is quite illogical. The JI chief said the PPP had also negated the mandate of the people back in the 1970s, and as a result, the country had been deprived of half of its land.

He said the ECP is going to hold the hearing of a case pertaining to Karachi on Tuesday (today), adding that the electoral body should decide cases on merit rejecting every pressure.

Regarding the Toshakhana scandal, Haq said that it was an eye-opener for the entire nation. He said that the ruling elite, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the PPP, have plundered the national exchequer and the Toshakhana, adding that the matter should be investigated properly.

He asked the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo moto action on the irregularities and corruption in the foreign funding pertaining to the flood-affected people. He demanded that the government and those in the power corridors release Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, and provide justice to the people of Gwadar and other parts of Balochistan.

On the national political scenario, the JI leader said that holding elections in two provinces would be a useless exercise. He said that the general elections should be held countrywide but after introducing electoral reforms.

He also said that the PDM and the PTI have locked horns over personal and political interests, not over national interests. The nation needs to get rid of the PTI, the PPP and the PDM, while the JI is the only alternative in the political arena to handle the current crises, he added.

Haq said that both the PTI and the current ruling regime played the role of facilitator for the International Monetary Fund. He also demanded that the government ensure the due rights, including respectable source of livelihood, of the Khawaja Siras in the country instead of the controversial legislation.

Haq was on a short visit to the city to offer his condolences to JI leader Laeq Ahmed’s family over his death.