KARACHI: Existence of country at stake, warns Prof Ghafoor
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 19: The deputy chief of Jamaat-i-Islami, Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmad, has claimed that Karachi has again been turned into a crime den where mutilated, tortured and drilled bodies are being thrown on streets.
Describing the situation as ‘extremely grave for the solidarity, integrity and survival of the country’, he said that the parleys scheduled for July would be very important for the political future of the country. If the talks failed, he warned, the responsibility would rest on Gen Musharraf.
Prof Ghafoor, who was speaking at the ‘mango party’ arranged by the JI at the Idara Noor-i-Haq on Saturday, accused the federal government of giving a free-hand to the provincial government to subject the citizens to oppression. The people are being extorted under the supervision of the government functionaries, he alleged.
He said that Defence and Clifton localities, which once used to be known as ‘no go areas’ for dacoit, had now become a safe haven for outlaws where people were being deprived of their vehicles, mobile phones and other valuables in broad daylight every day. He also claimed that the government’s opponents were being tortured at police stations while police remain spectators.
The entire city is in the grip of coercion and oppression where the role of army, Rangers and police has been reduced to only flopping the elected city government.
The JI leader recalled that Gen Musharraf himself had confessed that despite his having all powers, he had failed to attain his objective of restoring law and order, reviving economy and eliminating corruption.
He said Gen Musharraf, whose agendas included establishing good governance and eliminating corruption, had been patronizing all those who were wanted by the NAB and agencies. In this regard, he gave the example of certain Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders and recalled that they had been accused of being Indian agents. Warrants for their arrest had been issued and a hunt was launched by the army. Cases registered against them pertained to heinous crimes. With these leaders, he indicated, the party had been made a partner in the minority coalition because the former had lent its support to Gen Musharraf.
Quoting from the speech of the governor of the State Bank that due to law and order situation, there was no investment in the country, Prof Ghafoor said there was already a huge army of the jobless in the country and millions of retrenched government employees joined in. The unemployment and hunger, he added, was compelling people to resort to suicide.
The JI Senator referred to the World Bank report 2002 stating that level of corruption had gone up in every department, including that of police where it had increased up to 100 per cent.
“No genuine work is possible without greasing the palms,” he pointed out and alleged, “instead of eliminating politics from government institutions, the army, agencies and other institutions have got involved in politics.” Their role prior to and during the election 2002 is an evidence, he added.
Speaking about the forthcoming government-opposition talks, the JI leader said that the opposition had demonstrated enough flexibility. In this regard, he mentioned withdrawal of a no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, assurance of cooperation in Gen Musharraf’s election as President and allowing the government to complete its term provided that the Constitution was restored in its pre-Musharraf era and the state institutions were strengthened.
He lamented Gen Musharraf’s attitude which, he said, was contrary to that of the opposition. “The General wants the parliament, which enjoys people’s mandate, to become subservient to the National Security Council,” he claimed and warned that if his idea materialized, such a parliament would no longer be a viable institution. He criticized Gen Musharraf for reminding the elected legislators that he possessed the powers to send the Jamali government home and to dissolve the parliament.
Prof Ghafoor advised Gen Musharraf to give up his adamant attitude with the patriotic opposition, withdraw his patronage to ‘terrorists’ and let the army perform its duty of defending the country’s borders.
