JI sees bid to delay general election

PESHAWAR: Provincial president of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Prof Muhammad Ibrahim Khan has urged the federal and provincial governments to ensure holding of the general election not later than October this year and vowed to resist any bid to delay the polls.

Addressing a news conference here on Friday, the JI KP chapter chief alleged that the federal, caretaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governments wanted to delay the polls.

He said any delay in holding the election beyond its constitutional time would be considered a violation of the constitution.

Flanked by provincial deputy chief of the party Inayatullah Khan, Shah Faisal Afridi and others, the JI provincial chief said that the country was passing through a serious crisis and only following the constitution would steer the country out of the crisis.

He accused the federal government of usurping the rights of the province.

“The provincial share in budget, federal divisible pools and National Finance Commission Award has not been given to the province. Hydel net profit is denied to the province,” he added.

The JI leader said the promises made with the tribal districts at the time of 25th Constitutional Amendment could not be fulfilled. He said the three percent share from the federal divisible pools should be given to the merged districts.

He recalled that at the time of merger, the federal government had promised to issue Rs 100 billion per year to those areas for development, adding Rs 1,000 billion amount was to be given to them within 10 years.

But since the year 2017, not a single penny could be issued for the uplift of these districts, he alleged. The JI leader flayed the KP caretaker government after accusing it of actions which he believed were beyond its constitutional mandate.

He said that the caretaker government did not have any right to issue funds for the development projects launched by the previous government.

The JI leader alleged that the KP government was violating its own mandate by carrying out massive transfers and postings.

He said the KP caretaker government and the governor should limit themselves to their constitutional mandate or else the JI would move court against them.