Return of illegal Afghans: JI asks Islamabad, Kabul to form joint commission

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief of Sirajul Haq on Thursday urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to form a joint commission and work out a doable strategy for the return of the illegal Afghan nationals.

“The way the crackdown has been launched against the Afghans staying in Pakistan without any preparation will widen the trust- deficit between the two countries. the matter should be resolved tactfully in consultation with the Afghan government,” Sirajul Haq told a news conference here.

Former senior minister and provincial deputy chief of the party Inayatullah Khan, general secretary Abdul Wasi and former Member National Assembly Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali were also present on the occasion.

Currently, he said, Afghanistan had a stable and strong government. “Peace and economic conditions of Afghanistan are also far better. Therefore, if any Afghan national living in Pakistan wants to return to his homeland voluntarily, it should be welcomed. But pushing them out by force is inappropriate,” he added.

He said that the government should properly evaluate the situation pertaining to the Afghan refugees and those who don’t have legal documents and an honourable strategy should be adopted.

The JI chief said that the situation arising after the government’s ill-planned strategy to expel the ‘illegal foreigners’ was deplorable. “The stories coming from the convoys of the Afghans going back to their homeland were horrible. Women and children have been staying in vehicles for days from Karkhano Market till Torkham border without having any food or other necessities of life. This is against the basic principles of humanity,” he added.

Sirajul Haq welcomed the Election Commission of Pakistan announcement regarding the election date.He lauded the Supreme Court chief justice for bringing the nation out of confusion. He said that the institutions meant for accountability such as the Supreme Court, National Accountability Bureau and others have been unable to hold the wrong doers accountable.

“The hold the common man by collars. But they cannot say anything to VIPs,” he argued. The JI chief was much concerned about the situation in Palestine and urged the Muslim rulers, including Pakistan, to convene an early meeting of OIC heads of states and announce full financial and military support for the Palestinians.

He said that Pakistan and other Muslim countries were demonstrating silence over the massacre of Muslims including women and children in Palestine owing to the fear and pressure from the US.

He said that the JI held big demonstrations in all the cities of the country to show solidarity with the people of Palestine. He announced that a historic march would be arranged in Lahore on November 19 to express sympathy with the inhabitants of Gaza.

Sirajul Haq said that due to the horrific situation in Gaza, the JI postponed its drive against price-hike. However, he rejected the unprecedented hike in the prices of gas after the increase in the prices of electricity and petroleum products by the caretaker government.

He said that it was beyond the mandate of the caretaker government to increase prices of daily commodities.He asked the government to immediately withdraw the decision to hike the prices of gas and revise the prices of electricity and petrol.

He said that the JI had already challenged the 15 taxes in electricity bills in the Supreme Court. He said that instead of squeezing the blood of the poor people through inflated electricity bills, the government should stop the power-theft and free units to the elites and top government offices worth Rs1200 billion.

The JI chief also expressed reservation over the political and economic crisis in the country and held the previous rulers responsible for the mess. He said that the previous rulers pushed the country towards the slavery of the IMF.