Hold consensus, elections to resolve crises, says Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Sirajul Haq has warned that not political engineering but political dialogue to hold consensus and transparent elections will resolve the crises facing the country.All state institutions must become impartial in political affairs and focus themselves on the duties assigned to them by the Constitution and the laws of the land, he said while addressing a meeting of party office-bearers at Mansoorah on Thursday. He promised that JI would continue its efforts for dialogue among political parties to hold transparent and fair elections by giving the masses the power to decide their future representatives who could pull the country out of current economic quagmire.

He said the masses were the ultimate victim of the prevailing crises which was a direct result of the fighting among the powerful for the protection of self-interests. He announced the countrywide protest demonstrations for the release of Dr Afia Siddiqui from the US prison, appealing to the masses to ensure their full participation in the agitation. He directed the JI workers to expedite ‘Dastak Mohim -Door to Door Movement’ and spread the party message of corruption-free modern Islamic state among the people.

The meeting congratulated Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his success in Turkiye presidential polls, hoping Pak-Turk relations would further strengthen in future. The meeting condemned the Zhob suicide attack on the JI ameer, demanding fair investigation into the terrorist incident.

Sirajul Haq demanded the government provide relief to the poor in the budget instead of following the IMF directions. He called for restoration of subsidies on electricity and gas and cut in petrol prices. He said the NAB and the courts had failed to act against the looters and now the people should hold the corrupt elements accountable with the power of vote. He said the incumbent and former governments were equally responsible for the plight of the masses.