Sirajul Haq demands transparent inquiry into plane crash

LAHORE:Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has demanded the government hold transparent inquiry into PIA plane crash in Karachi, abandoning the old practices of putting the burden of tragedies on the deceased pilots.

“We have always seen that deceased pilots were held responsible for the plane crashes in official inquiries. This is unfortunate and the nation needs to shun these bad practices to grow out of the mire of corruption,” he said while talking to the media after visiting the family of unfortunate PIA Captain Sajjad Gul here Wednesday. He offered fateha for the martyred soul, paid tribute to the nationalistic services of the late pilot and declared him hero of the nation.

He said the mismanagement and corruption were main reasons behind the destruction of the national flag carrier. Earlier, talking to a delegation of scholars who met with him at Mansoora, Senator Siraj urged the Ittehad-e-Tanzeemat-e-Madaris to reopen the religious seminaries across the country. He warned the authorities that a massive protest movement will start against the government in case Madaris were not allowed to resume their educational activities.

He said a prolonged ban on religious education could not be placed due to fear of coronavirus spread. Therefore, he said, Madaris should resume their educational activities by following the SOPs issued by the government. He said over three million students were receiving education in religious seminaries and they could not afford further loss to their education. He said the JI had always supported the Madaris on every issue in the past and it was also standing with them in this testing time.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Naib Ameer Liaqat Baloch expressed surprise over the delay in action against those involved in sugar scandal and mismanagement in the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, he said over 15 days had passed that the report of Sugar Inquiry Commission became public but the government was using delaying tactics to implement its recommendation. He held the prime minister and Punjab chief minister responsible for taking action against the sugar mafia.

The reason behind their silence, added Baloch, was that those who sanctioned subsidies to sugar mills were part of three ruling parties—the PTI, the PML-N and the PPP.

The JI leader also lamented the absence of full time foreign minister in the country which, he said, was the main reason behind the destruction of economy. Baloch expressed sorrow on the situation of Indian-Held Kashmir and the criminal silence of the international community over the grave human rights violations in the occupied valley. He said America, Israel and India had turned Afghanistan into a centre of their conspiracies.