MMA to contest polls on one symbol: Siraj

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq on Thursday said the newly resurrected Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) would contest the elections under one symbol, according to Geo News report.

While speaking at Peshawar University, he added that the next consultative session of the political alliance will be held in Lahore. Diraj further said other parties, which are clean and do not have their names mentioned in the Panama Papers, will also be invited to join the alliance.

About Fata merger with KP, the JI ameer said the people of the tribal areas should be given the same status as those living the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. He said the people of Fata want rights on par with the rest of the country.

Siraj said a jirga would visit Maulana Sami-ul-Haq and the wishes of the people of Fata will be respected. Criticising other political leaders, Siraj said there was no protest by the leadership when Masjid al-Aqsa was taken over by the Israelis and the objective of the political leadership is to only work for their own benefit. The formal announcement to restore the MMA was made on Dec 14. Following the meeting held earlier, Maulana Awais Noorani made the announcement regarding the MMA's restoration. He said that the names of the coalition officials would be announced within a month.

Sirajul Haq said they were uniting individuals and parties on the MMA's platform, in order to resolve public issues. The newly-restored coalition includes all the parties which had previously been part of it, except for Maulana Sami-ul-Haq-led Jamiat Ulema Islam-Sami (JUI-S).