December 12, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 13, 1429

KARACHI, Dec 11: Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary General Syed Munawwar Hasan has said that imposing a ban on “patriotic persons and organisations” is against the sovereignty of the country and the government should either call either a joint session of parliament or hold an all parties conference to immediately formulate a consensus strategy on the issue.

Speaking at a hurriedly called press conference at the party office Idara Noor-i-Haq on Thursday, Mr Hasan said that the UN Security Council’s ban on Pakistani organisations and its order to freeze their accounts was sheer injustice and oppression.

The JI leader recalled that Pakistan had already offered to initiate trial of suspects whose involvement in the Mumbai attacks could be proven by India. He asserted that despite this offer, India failed to provide proof and that it was beyond his comprehension why the Pakistani government would initiate action against an organisation in Muzaffarabad.

Mr Hasan said that while the UN was imposing a ban on Pakistani organisations, the Pakistani government was simply sitting on the sidelines. He added that pressure against Pakistan from India and the US was continuously on the rise, and it could only be faced by either parliament or by holding an all parties conference.

He also warned that if the rules took any decision which was against the aspirations of the people, anarchy would be the result.

“President Asif Zardari has conceded that India is behind the ongoing situation in Balochistan, but even then no protest has been lodged with India,” he added.