PESHAWAR: The leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami has chalked out a plan to give membership of the party to half million youth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, JI provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that a three-day youth festival would start at Shah Tehmash Stadium Peshawar from Friday in which youth from all districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata would take part.

He said that JI had prepared a roadmap for the next three years to mobilise youth including boys and girls of the province. In this connection, he said, the party would establish youth bodies in 1,001 union councils of the province. He said that half million youth would take part in the intra-party elections.

The JI leader said that provincial executive council of the party had finalised the roadmap. He said that women would also be given registration during the campaign. He said that rights granted by Islam would be protected.

Mr Khan said that popularity of JI was on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata and it would emerge as single largest party in the 2018 general elections.

He said that religious scholars would be involved in the campaign and in that connection conventions would be organised across the province to spread the message of JI.

The JI leader said that three-day training workshop would be organised in October and November and half million men and women would be invited to it. The party would also organise Quran classes and three million people would be invited to the classes, he said, adding that his party would take steps for the promotion of Islamic culture in society.

Mr Khan said that JI would continue struggle for constitutional rights of tribal people and would bring Fata into the mainstream. He demanded abolition of Articles 246 and 247 of the Constitution and Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

The JI leader also said that the party would launch mega scheme in health sector in the province as experts were working on the project. He said that the project would provide health delivery services to the people.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2016