LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami acting emir Liaquat Baloch says the government-opposition talks on the ToR issue are almost dead as the ruling party and some elements of the opposition do not want accountability.

Speaking at a meeting held here on Sunday to review preparations for the Rawalpindi march against corruption, he alleged that the government parliamentary team in the ToR committee had started creating obstacles from the very beginning and after wasting about a month, certain elements had almost buried the important national issue.

He equally held the opposition responsible for the stalemate and said both sides desired to escape accountability for protecting the “black sheep” among them. However, he said, the JI stuck to its demand for indiscriminate accountability of the government and the opposition through a judicial commission headed by the chief justice of Pakistan.

Mr Baloch said if the government did not show willingness for accountability even after the Rawalpindi march, the JI would bring the masses on roads in all the four provincial capitals and the federal capital and would not allow the government to flee accountability.

He said the corrupt were a strong group which wanted to run the country according to their wishes regardless of the law and the Constitution and the government pressure had virtually crippled the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other investigation agencies.

Mr Baloch said some recent decisions of the PPP and the PTI had harmed the opposition stance and benefited the government. He said the JI wanted a thorough inquiry into the Panama Leaks, Dubai Leaks and other corruption scandals.

He said the nation wanted indiscriminate accountability of the corrupt and the JI would not withdraw from this national demand. He said it was a pity that a handful of people had forced the masses to live in abject poverty whereas the plunderers were living in palaces and enjoying all luxuries of life.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016