JI quits KP govt, finally

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has finally ended five-year long political alliance with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and announced to quit the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government within a week.

The decision has come only a month before the end of the five-year tenure of the provincial government.

Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, the provincial head of the JI, announced in press conference at the Al Markaz-e-Islami here on Wednesday.

The JI provincial head, who was not supported by the PTI in his run for a seat in the Senate election last month, said they wanted to end the coalition on a good note and without getting into any blame-game.

“We had difference of opinion on many issues but we successfully ran the provincial government for five long years. We are now ending the coalition with PTI to enter fresh political alliance with religious parties in Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA),” Mushtaq Ahmad Khan told reporters.

Despite being in the coalition government in KP, both the JI and PTI fielded candidates against each other in the local bodies across the province as well as in almost all the by-elections held in KP and other parts of the country.

Also, the PTI refused to support the JI candidate for a general seat in Senate last month, after which the party had to ink agreement with opposition parties to manage a berth in the Upper House of Parliament for its provincial chief.

According to Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, the JI ministers and other cabinet members would quit the government within a couple of days.

“However, we would support the government in the upcoming budget, and in any move, if it comes, to topple the government,” said the JI leader.

The JI leader said the MMA was going to hold a provincial meeting on April 27 wherein the provincial set-up would be finalised and a programme for the next general election unveiled.

The alliance of the religious parties would hold a grand workers’ convention in Islamabad on May 2 after which formal electioneering would be started.

The MMA had ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for five years after the religious alliance got majority in the provincial assembly in the 2002 general election.

The JUI-F was the major coalition partner and got the top slot of the chief minister and important cabinet members.

Under the MMA rule, the JI was given the slot of speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly while the incumbent party chief, Senator Sirajul Haq, was made senior minister in the provincial cabinet.

Siraj later quit the cabinet to focus on his responsibilities as provincial amir of his party.

Regarding possible propaganda from other political parties, especially the PTI, after quitting the government, the JI provincial chief said that they believed in positive and constructive opposition and were not afraid of propaganda.

Flanked by provincial secretary general Abdul Wasi and secretary information Jamaat Ali Shah, Senator Mushtaq said that the MMA had not been formed to oppose anyone and its election campaign would not target any individual or party.

He said that the MMA had a strong organisational base and trained political workers. The leaders of the major parties of the MMA belong to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which gives it a clear edge over its political opponents and these would be the contributing factors to the ‘victory’ of the religious parties’ alliance in the next general election, he added.