Siraj for consensus on military courts

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer, Senator Sirajul Haq, on Sunday said that a national consensus was required for the revival of the military courts but the government itself seemed to be undecided on the issue so far. He was talking to the media at a reception hosted in his honour by former MPA Syed Ehsanullah Waqqas.Sirajul Haq said that till now, the government had neither consulted the political parties on the issue nor taken them into confidence in this regard.

He said that the government should have taken necessary measures to streamline the civil judicial system, for the security of the judges and the courts and also overcome the weaknesses wherever found. However, he said that nothing in this direction had been done during the last two years and the term of the military courts expired. He said if the government found itself in a difficult situation and had no other option, it should have taken the political parties into confidence and evolved national consensus.

Sirajul Haq said a criminal was a criminal no matter he was educated at a college, university, a seminary, or whether he was supporting a beard or not, and he must be treated a criminal. However, he said that harassing the Afghan refugees or the residents of the Pashtun areas was not justified.

“We would appreciate if the government arrests a criminal from a seminary, a college or the one sitting in the corridors of power”, he said. He however added that wiping out ideological and economic terrorism was also essential to check armed terrorism.

He said the JI would welcome any operation against the criminals but any such activity should not be used against religion, mosques and seminaries or the Ulema. He said if any operation was launched in the name of Islam, it was tantamount to endorsing the enemy agenda and in this case, the nation would believe that the rulers were advancing the enemy agenda.

“We want action against the criminals but Islam should not be made the target because this would be playing the enemy game” he added. He said that considering all those coming from Afghanistan as enemy and treating all of them alike was wrong. He said that saints like Syed Ali Hajveri and Lal Shahbaz Qalandar also came from Afghanistan and spread the message of Islam to millions of people here.

He said that so far, lakhs of Afghan refugees were camping in the country and they should not be considered as criminals and every Pushto speaking person should not be taken as a terrorist. This mindset should be changed, he added.

The JI chief said that action against the Afghan and Pashtun citizens was creating hatred for the government. Detaining any one for being a Sindhi, Punjabi or Pashtun and subjecting him to torture was detrimental to the national harmony, he concluded.