Audits by past govts would have made Pakistan corruption-free: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has said if the accounts of the governments of Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf and Asif Ali Zardari were audited, Pakistan could become a corruption-free state. He said the JI wanted that accountability should begin from the prime minister and continue uninterrupted, and added that some 5,000 to 6,000 corrupt people would have to be sacrificed to achieve this goal. The corrupt sitting in the ruling party or the opposition should not be allowed to escape, he added.

Sirajul Haq said a ruthless and indiscriminate accountability was imperative before next elections in order to eliminate corruption failing which the coterie of the corrupt would return to the corridors of power with the power of their wealth. Besides, he said, election commission must be strengthened and made truly independent and its efficiency should be improved.

He said the JI had begun its campaign against corruption a few months back and by now, the slogan of corruption-free Pakistan was on every tongue. He said that the JI would hold a walk against corruption in Rawalpindi on July 24. He appealed to the federal and the provincial governments to extend immediate help to the rain-affected people in Chitral.

He expressed complete confidence in Saudi government for its capabilities to crush the terrorists working against the holy land. He was talking to reporters at Lahore airport on return from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah, along with JI Foreign Affairs director Abdul Ghaffar Aziz.

Sirajul Haq said the terrorist attack on Madina and other cities of Saudi Arabia had caused great shock to every believer and the whole Muslim world was aggrieved. He said the security of Harmain Sharifain was the responsibility of entire Muslim world and whole Ummah would have to get united and adopt a joint strategy for its security. He said OIC was a dead horse which could not be relied upon. He said it was the responsibility of the Muslim rulers to face the hostile forces in their countries to restore peace in the Muslim world.

Meanwhile, JI naib ameer Hafiz Muhammad Idrees while delivering Eid sermon at Mansoora masjid, strongly condemned the blasts at Madina and other Saudi cities and said the agents of colonial powers had hurt the heart of every Muslim. He said world powers who had imposed a war on Muslims had purchased the conscience of the Muslim rulers who were slaves of dollars. He said had the Muslim rulers made use of any sense of honour and religious dignity, the carnage of Muslims all over the world would not have been going on. He said human rights bodies and Muslim rulers were silent over the bloodletting in Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir, Syria, and Afghanistan.

He said the Qibla-e-Awwal of Muslims, Masjid al Aqsa, was awaiting another Salah-ud-Din Ayubi to liberate her from the Zionist occupation again.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri contacted Sirajul Haq on phone and greeted him on performing Umrah and Aitkaf at the Holy Ka'aba.