No decision on alliance with PTI: KP JI chief

PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of making any alliance with or offering its shoulder to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to form its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In response to a statement of PTI spokesman Raoof Hassan and growing speculations on social media, JI KP president Prof Mohammad Ibraheem Khan said that his party had not taken any decision regarding an alliance with PTI.

“The PTI is free to form a government with the support of anyone but it should refrain from using our name,” he said.

He added that the PTI was unilaterally using the name of the JI to create confusion, which was inappropriate. “The JI would not offer its shoulder to anyone. The PTI should behave sensibly as using our name for government formation is not morally appropriate,” he maintained.

Speculations have been on the rise after the PTI’s electoral victory in the province that it would form a government in the province with the support of JI. The speculations were strengthened with JI’s Karachi head Hafiz Naeemur Rahman’s decision of vacating Sindh Assembly seat PS-129 after he was declared successful on the seat.

According to senior leadership of the JI, no formal contact could be made at any level with the party for any alliance at any level. However, some reports suggested that the top leadership of PTI had made one telephone call to JI’s ex-Amir Sirajul Haq.

JI deputy general secretary, Syed Bakhtiar Maani, said that one-time contact was made with the JI leadership and cooperation had been sought, to which JI had responded that they would think over it. “But now that JI has been deprived of its two KP Assembly seats from Bajaur no possibility of any alliance has left,” he added.

JI Provincial deputy chief and member of its political committee Inayatullah Khan said that PTI was not serious in anything. He ruled out the possibility of any alliance with anyone. He said that why would JI offer its shoulder to anyone to risk its credibility. He said that JI would stay away from the government and would resume its routine activities soon.

JI’s Secretary General Abdul Wasi told The News that no one has made any contact with the political committee of the party comprising provincial president Prof Mohammad Ibraheem Khan, deputy president Inayatullah Khan and himself.

Regarding the PTI’s delegation’s visit to JI’s office, he said that it was not a formal delegation of the party. Rather it was a group of their defeated candidates who have launched a protest campaign and they wanted JI’s support. “They may have met some senior members of the party to invite them to their protest camp,” he said.

The JI is currently a party without a head. Its Amir Sirajul Haq has tendered resignation and the party is yet to have any acting head, which is something novel in the reportedly most organized party in the country’s politics.

The resignation of Sirajul Haq as party head, strange decision of Hafiz Naeemur Rahman to vacate his seat and returning officers’ decision in Bajaur to undo the party’s victory on two provincial assembly seats and notify PTI candidates’ victory there has caused a wave of shock and depression among the party workers.

They believed that PTI snatched the seats from them by projecting fake form-45 and giving threats to the district administration. However, the local leadership of the party declared to move the high court against the decision.