JI rejects Fazl’s suggestion of not taking oath

Islamabad : Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) head Sirajul Haq, who is also MMA deputy chief, on Monday rejected Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman's suggestion to boycott oath-taking in the parliament and said he did not believe in responding to disagreement with hostility.

"We will sit in the opposition with complete dignity and play our role," he said.

However, the JI leadership expressed serious reservations Over the results of July 25 polls as well as the role of state institutions’ in the alleged irregularities therein and decided to play the role of opposition in parliament and wait for the fulfilment of Imran khan’s promise to make Pakistan a model of Madina state.

This decision taken by the marathon meeting of JI shura (central decision-making body) was announced by the party chief, Siraj during a press conference at Mansoora on Monday.

He demanded formation of a commission to probe the allegations of irregularities and rigging in the elections. He said all the affected parties must be allowed to present their reservations which must be addressed.

He said the illegal interference by the state institutions in the elections had left a bad impression on the public mind due to which even the winners felt ashamed. He said the state institutions and their resources were used to change the loyalties of people in order to secure desired results as was something unprecedented.

Besides, he said, the election results were delayed for hours and the Polling agents of the candidates from Dir to Chitral were not provided Form 45.

Siraj, however, expressed satisfaction over the holding of elections on schedule and noted that the religious parties, including the MMA, had secured more than 5.5 million votes.

He said the JI believed in bringing about the Islamic revolution through the democratic process. He said that the vote bank of the religious parties could become a formidable force through unity.

He said the other parties of the MMA would be taken into confidence on the issues and added that the JI would play the role of a constructive opposition, appreciate every good work of the government and oppose every wrong move.