Siraj blasts govt for toeing IMF’s line

PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Thursday said that the country was facing economic and political “terrorism” and all the claims and slogans of the incompetent rulers were based on lies.

“The economic policy of the rulers is nothing but to spread your hands and pick up the begging bowl. The apathy of the rulers can be gauged from the fact that they are celebrating the one billion dollars loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” he said while addressing the Khatme Bukhari Sharif and Hadeeqatul Uloom, Markaz-e-Islami, here.

The JI leader asked the rulers to tell the people under which conditions the loan had been taken from the IMF. He said that the loan had been taken by the same prime minster who had openly announced that he would prefer suicide over taking loans from the IMF.

“The prime minister has no courage to commit suicide rather the hunger, price-hike and over taxations have forced the masses to commit suicide,” Sirajul Haq remarked.

He said that the country’s economy was being run by the IMF. The judicial and education systems were the ones left by the British rulers, he added.

He said that the Islamic system could not be implemented even for a single day in the country that had come into existence in the name of Islam.

“Once the interest-based system is done away with, the country would become prosperous by the grace of Allah Almighty,” he added.

He said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had failed to deliver in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Hate and anger has spread among the people of the province against the naïve rulers,” he added.

He said that the PTI had made life miserable for the people through its flawed policies. Owing to over-taxation, the prices of daily items especially food items, petrol, gas and electricity have gone much higher than the buying capacity of the middle class, he said.

Sirajul Haq claimed that the PTI would suffer a humiliating defeat in the second round of the local government elections. The JI chief said that the days of the government were numbered.

The JI chief also condemned the terrorist attacks in Panjgor and Naushki and expressed sympathies with the family members of the slain officials.

He alleged that the government was making blatant violations of the code of conduct for the second round of local government elections. Excessive use of government funds and authority was made in Upper Dir Upper and Lower Dir, he said.

He urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to take notice of the situation. Chief Minister Mahmood Khan was responsible for the violation of the code of conduct, he said, adding, he said that the people showed mirror to the PTI in the first round of the local government election.

Sirajul Haq also asked the government to allocate funds for religious seminaries in the education budget.

The function was also addressed by prominent religious scholar Maulana Abdul Malik, Member National Assembly Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, JI provincial vice-presidents Maulana Mohammad Ismail, Dr Mohammad Iqbal Khalil, general secretary Abdul Wasi and others.