JI chief wants people involved in May 9 hooliganism punished

PESHAWAR: Condemning the May 9 vandalism, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said on Wednesday that those involved in the incidents should be awarded punishment but innocent people should not be punished.

“We condemn the terrorist incidents and hooliganism. National properties were burnt on May 9. A school in Timergara and the building of Radio Pakistan in Peshawar were torched. No one is above law. Whoever the perpetrators are and which party they belong to, they should be dealt with in accordance with the law of the land. But justice should be seen to have been done,” he said, while addressing an ‘Election Conference-2023’ here. The conference was attended by local government representatives and party nominees for next general elections. Central deputy chief of the party Liaqat Baloch, provincial president Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, provincial deputy chief Inayatullah Khan, Maulana Mohammad Ismail, general secretary Abdul Wasi and others also spoke on the occasion.

Sirajul Haq stressed the need for dialogue to get the country out of the crisis. He said that the political parties should talk sense and make sincere efforts for the well-being of the country.

The only way to overcome the crisis in the country was fair and transparent elections, which should be arranged on August 14, he added. About the suicide attack on him in Zhob, he said that five days of the incidents have passed, but JI could not be informed of any investigation of the incident. He said that the JI had no rivalry with anyone. “We have continued our struggle within the limits of the constitution and the law of the land.

The people should be informed of the reasons and actual perpetrators of the incident,” he maintained. About the situation in Balochistan, he said that there was no military solution to the unrest in the province. “Even if the army is doubled in Balochistan, the issue would not be resolved unless the trust of the people of the province is restored,” he said.