Legal fraternity plays vital role in restoration of democracy: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq has said the legal fraternity played a vital role for the restoration of democracy and free judiciary but the dream is yet to be materialised in its true sense.

He was addressing a reception hosted by the Matyari District Bar Association on Wednesday, says a JI spokesman from Mansoora.

Siraj said powerful people, controlling the country's affairs, were not answerable to the law and the poor were deprived of justice and spent years in jail for a minor crime. “Elites ruling the country never come under the radar of accountability,” he said, questioning how the people of Pakistan whose forefathers rendered countless sacrifices to achieve this country could bear this corrupt system. “I appeal to the nation and the lawyers community to stand firm against this discrimination.”

He said economic and social justice were indispensible for the development of any society and lawyers should play their role in a more effective manner for the provision of justice to the common man.

He said the feudal lords and imperialists were the real culprits, who occupied the resources and power soon after the creation of the country, keeping deprived the masses from even basic needs.

It was an irony that millions of children were not attending schools due to poverty and even clean drinking water was not available to a large population despite the fact that Allah Almighty gifted Pakistan with enormous resources.

He said the PTI and the PDM were two sides of the same coin and they do politics only to serve their self-interests, adding the JI is the only party which was struggling for the rights of people and it had the capability to put the country on track if voted to power.

Earlier, he addressed Khatam-e-Bokhari Sharif ceremonies in two religious seminaries in Mansoora Hala near Hyderabad. He also inaugurated a free medical centre in the area. The JI charity Al-Khidmat Foundation established the centre to facilitate the local community. He said the JI would keep serving the people of Pakistan despite limited resources.