‘Religious parties real opposition’

LAHORE: Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC) has condemned the assassination of Iran and Iraq’s top generals on the order of US President Donald Trump, declaring it an attack on the entire Muslim world, and demanded immediate withdrawal of US and allied forces from Muslim countries and bringing an end to wars being fought on Muslim lands.

This was demanded by a joint communiqué at the meeting of MYC, an alliance of Islamist parties representing all schools of thought, held at Jamaat-e-Islami headquarters Mansoora on Monday and attended by heads and representatives of 26 religio-political parties. It noted that the attack was the continuation of Washington’s pro-terrorism policies and proof of its hostility against Muslim nations. Reiterating the demand of immediate withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other countries and end to the Yemen war, the communiqué expressed concern on Pakistan’s Kashmir policy and said the rulers had deliberately abandoned the cause, allowing India to tighten its grip in the held region. It demanded the international community take action against the blatant human rights violations in Indian-held Kashmir, saying the Kashmirs be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination granted to them by the UNO through different resolutions.

The meeting also criticised the government for skipping the Malaysian summit, stating the prime minister had lost trust of the friendly states through his act. The PTI government, it stated, has not only failed to develop an independent foreign policy but its domestic policies also proved flawed. “Unemployment and inflation are hitting the masses badly. The prime minister’s claim to turn Pakistan into a Madina-like state proved a joke,” read the declaration. It asked the government avoid taking steps to curb the independence of religious seminaries in the country. The meeting demanded an end to a discriminatory treatment with the minorities in different parts of the world. It condemned the illegal detention of Nigeria’s Muslim leader Ali Ibrahim Zakzaky. Addressing the meeting, JI ameer Sehator Sirajul Haq said it had been proved now that mainstream political parties were on the same page and religious parties were playing the role of the real opposition in the country. The PTI, PPP and PML-N criticism of each other is mere eyewash, he said, asking the MYC to devise a strategy and give a direction to the nation to bring the country out of internal and external crises. He said the Kashmir Solidarity Day would be marked with full strength on February 5 from the platforms of the JI and MYC. MYC President Sahibzada Abual Khair Dr Muhammad Zubair presided over the meeting while Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, Allama Arif Wahidi, Pir Haroon Gilani, Professor Ibrahim, Asadullah Bhutto, Hafiz Akif Saeed, Allma Zubair Ahmad Zaheer, Pir Ghulam Rasool Awaisi and others attended.