JI to give PTI chance to fulfil promises: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has said his party does not believe in negative politics and will give opportunity to the PTI to fulfill its promises.

JI is keenly awaiting the steps Imran Khan has in mind for building Pakistan an Islamic state on the model of Madina State and liberating the country’s economy from IMF control, Siraj said while addressing a meeting of the party’s delegations at Mansoora on Wednesday. Sirajul Haq said it was the JI that had suggested the other parties to join the parliament in the wake of elections and they accepted the idea.

Besides, he said, some people were in favour of a strong agitation movement but JI tried to save the country from the 1977 like situation to prevent martial law. He said the country could be put on the path to development only through real supremacy of the parliament and rule of the law. “We want the decisions should be taken in broad daylight and not in darkness of night”, he added. If we trust collective wisdom of the masses, the country would march forward, the JI ameer said.

He said even after spending Rs20 billion on the elections, the Election Commission failed to hold fair, transparent and reliable elections. He said even the Chief Justice of Pakistan had made an adverse comment about the Chief Election Commissioner. He said when the state institutions interfered in politics, their own image suffered. Sirajul Haq said Pakistan’s politics was not free and it was slave to international establishment while international colonialism could not see the advance of Islam in any country. That was why the Islamic forces of Egypt, Palestine and many other states securing public support through democratic process were not accepted by the world establishment, he added.

He said JI was trying its best to unite religious forces in the country. He said religious parties had secured 5.5 million votes and added if these votes had been united, the religious parties would have much larger representatives in the parliament. Sirajul Haq said JI did not accept the west’s view of restricting Islam to the mosque. Instead, it wanted to see Islam active and dominant in every part of human life. He said the time would soon come when Pakistan would become a true Islamic state.

Meanwhile, addressing a meeting of MMA Punjab office bearers, Secretary General of JI and the MMA, Liaquat Baloch said July 25 elections were the worst exercise of rigging. He alleged that at the beginning, state institutions made their efforts for desired results. However, when they were not sure about that, they overtook the powers of the Election Commission and did their game, he further alleged.

Liaquat Baloch said religious parties had secured 5.5 million votes which could be a foundation for unity of religious forces in future. He said only religious parties could free Punjab politics from the hold of feudal lords, so called electables and corrupt politicians. He said rigging in the election was a glaring fact and PTI Chairman Imran Khan was adopting every tactic to form his government that was called status quo in the past. He said even if the status quo forces were able to form a government, no major change could be expected.

He said the US would bring forth hard conditions for IMF loan to reduce economic growth and cause price spiral.