Rulers biggest hurdle to welfare state: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has said the rulers themselves are the biggest hurdle in the establishment of Pakistan as a welfare state as envisaged by Quaid-e-Azam.

Talking to different delegations at Mansoora on the Quaid's birthday anniversary, he said the JI was striving for the supremacy of law and accountability of the rulers. All those who had plundered public money in the past must be held accountable for their wealth and their ill-gotten wealth must be recovered from them. He said without the recovery of the plundered wealth, the entire accountability process would be meaningless.

The JI Ameer said those denying the people’s rights were usurpers and could not be called public representatives. He said the Quaid-e-Azam wanted Pakistan to be an Islamic Welfare State and a model for the modern world. He said the Muslims of the sub-continent had joined the Pakistan Movement rising above the consideration of region, colour, caste and sect.

However, he said, that after Pakistan came into being due to the sacrifices of lakhs of lives, the cronies of the British holding properties came to power and turned the country into a big jail for the masses. He said the last 70 years of the country’s history were a tale of deprivations of the masses and the tyranny and exploitation of the rulers. He said the present system in the country is a mockery of democracy as the rulers have been taking major decisions over and above the parliament.

Sirajul Haq said the people crying hoarse of democracy did not tolerate true democracy in their own parties. The two major political parties that had been in power during the last four decades had become family parties in which the common worker was not allowed to rise to the top. The rulers had their businesses, bank accounts and properties outside the country whereas the masses were denied basic facilities of life.

LGH: Lahore General Hospital (LGH) established a 20-bed temporary hospital at Shahbaz Sharif Zacha Bacha Centre on Badian Road on the inauguration of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI).

According to a press release issued here on Monday, the hospital had all modern and basic medical facilities to meet any untoward situation. In the hospital, operation theatre, blood bank, emergency ward and other sections were created where doctors, nurses and paramedical staff were deputed.

Post Graduate Medical Institute Principal Prof Ghiasun Nabi Tayyab expressed his gratitude for trust of Punjab government on LGH. He thanked doctors, nurses and paramedical for emergency duties and appreciated their professional capabilities. He appreciated the vision of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in health sector and said projects like PKLI would play an important role in health sector.

Scouts: A smartly turned out contingent of scouts of a public sector school of Model Town performed duties of traffic wardens and managed traffic flow on Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam (The Mall) from 11am to 2pm on Monday.

Punjab School Education Department Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik, school’s principal Rana Atta Muhammad and other officials were present on the occasion. The scouts distributed pamphlets among the public while the secretary asked the people to follow traffic rules. The scouts sang national songs and paid rich tributes to founder of the nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In his address, Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik asked the students to follow golden principles unity, faith and discipline and emerge as socially-responsible citizens to play a proactive role in national development. The students must learn to follow different traffic rules to adopt a responsible and law-abiding behavior on roads, he added.