Bill on Fata a big victory of tribal people: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Senator Sirajul Haq welcomed the passage of the Bill in National Assembly extending the jurisdiction of Supreme and High Court to FATA terming it a big victory of tribal people, but deplored the delay in abolition of black law, the FCR, and Fata’s merger with KP, and its quota in National Finance Commission.

Addressing the JI central workshop at Mansoora Friday evening, Sirajul Haq said the extension of apex court’s jurisdiction to tribal areas was an important step towards the restoration of human rights of tribal people and the abolition of black Law of FCR. However, he said, the government had partly accepted tribal peoples’ demands, adding that the government should have moved a comprehensive bill for complete end of FCR, FATA’s merger with KP and fixing three percent of NFC for the area. He said despite the recommendation of Sartaj Aziz Committee, the government had wasted an opportunity of bringing tribal areas on a par with the other parts of the country. He said it seemed that the government wanted to gain time to complete its term. However, he said, the JI would not rest at ease until the tribal people got their lawful rights.

He said developments in Balochistan Assembly against the wishes of the federal government showed rulers' grip had weakened and they had lost control over the affairs of the state. He said Kasur incident had exposed the good governance of the government and proved that masses and even minor children were not secure. He termed the government’s performance totally disappointing and said rulers did not have any solution of masses problems. People’s life, property and honour were insecure and they were deprived of basic facilities. He said the JI was striving for Nizam-e-Mustafa in the country which would ensure fundamental rights and justice at people's doorstep.

Meanwhile, JI naib ameer Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, while delivering Friday sermon at Mansoora masjid, said the secular lobby and rulers who struggled for banning death sentence to please Europe were responsible for the brutal murder of Zainab and other minor children.

The heinous crimes against minor children and other citizens could not be controlled unless the culprits were executed in public, he said, adding had Islamic system been enforced after establishment of Pakistan, the people would not have been compelled to lift the bodies of their dead innocent kids. He said had the 1973 Constitution been implemented in letter and spirit, the crimes could have been wiped out. However, he said, rulers were themselves not sincere in enforcing Islamic laws.

He said the social and moral evils like nudity, vulgarity and immorality were prevalent in the society as media and rulers were patronising those evils, warning that such evils needed to be controlled immediately in order to check increasing wickedness in the society. Hafiz Idrees said the alarming increase in crime showed the failure of police and judicial system.