Siraj warns govt against changing corridor route

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) head Senator Sirajul Haq on Monday made it clear that if the federal government tried to change the route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it would be an effort to sabotage the project.
He said the country was being ruled by a specific class while the commoners were left to pay taxes or stage demonstrations for their rights.Addressing a rally at Shahi Bagh, Sirajul Haq said the majority of the youth were jobless even after getting educational degrees. He added the only solution to the country’s problems was the establishment of the Islamic system of governance.
The JI chief said there was no democracy in the political parties despite claiming to be democratic.“The education system is class-based as the poor cannot afford the expenses at the higher educational institutions,” Sirajul Haq added. He said decisions in the country are being made on the basis of power and money but the JI would stand by those who are fighting against injustice in the society.
He said the children in Balochistan had been forced to take to the mountains instead of going to school and colleges while labourers were burnt alive in a factory in Karachi. “Over 24,000 people have been killed in Karachi and still there is no security for the common man,” the JI chief pointed out.
Sirajul Ha urged the people to support Jamaat-i-Islami in its efforts to establish a justice-based Islamic society as it was the only solution to the problems of the people.The JI chief claimed the minorities stood by his party and its manifesto. “I was the first one to turn up in Kasur when the Christian couple was killed there. We have always worked for the rights of the followers of other religions,” he maintained.
He announced not to use air-conditioner in summers till all the people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa get the facility at their homes.The JI chief condemned the death sentence awarded to deposed President Mohammad Morsi and others in Egypt.
JI provincial head Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, Sabir Hussain Awan, Shabbir Ahmad Khan, Israrullah and others also addressed the rally that was earlier scheduled to be held at Jinnah Park but was later shifted to Shahi Bagh.Strict security arrangements were made at the venue following threats of terror attacks in the provincial capital for the last few days.