Corruption biggest threat to country: Siraj

LAHORE: Religious leaders have termed corruption the biggest problem in the country that has paralysed and plagued every walk of life and is threatening the foundations of the country.They were addressing a seminar titled the “Corruption Free Pakistan”, organised by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal on Wednesday, chaired by its Ameer Senator Siraj-ul-Haq.

Siraj-ul-Haq warned that secular elements were conspiring to destroy the ideological foundations of the country and planning to bring a ‘modern’ resolution in place of the Pakistan Resolution besides changing the Constitution of the country. He said such conspiracies would secularise the country and destroy the national harmony bound by the bond of Islam, thus plunging the country into turmoil and anarchy.

He said the ideological corruption had led to the split of the country in 1971 and enemy agents were once again trying to play the same dirty game with the security of the country. Siraj said the Corruption Free Pakistan was the demand of every Pakistani and not of the JI alone, and added Pakistan and corruption could not go together any more.

He said the ruling elite were misappropriating the public money and they had already misappropriated 375 billion dollars of the poor nation and transferred to banks abroad and they could not be well-wishers of the nation and the country. He said unless the nation was fully awake and stood behind the institutions, these institutions would not apprehend the big plunderers.

He said those officers deputed to provide relief to the affected of the natural calamities and the calamity stricken people of Thar were living in posh bungalows of Murree and Abbotabad while the calamity affected were living in tents. He held the both the PPP and PML-N responsible for the prevailing plight of PIA.

Commenting on Pervez Musharraf, Siraj said the ex-general’s ailment was only a pretext to save his skin.JI Secretary-General Liaqat Baloch, Dr Shahid Siddiqui, PPP leader Qayyum Nizami, ex-DG NAB, KPK Muhammad Aslam Ghumman, and others also spoke. They maintained that corruption in all forms must be weeded out to protect the country from anarchy, poverty, price spiral, illiteracy, lawlessness and terrorism.