LAHORE, April 13: After failing to woo PML-N and PTI for seat adjustment, the Jamat-e-Islami has advised its leaders and workers to launch an extensive election campaign from Sunday (today) in order to attract voters in the constituencies across the country where the party has fielded candidates.

“Since the JI’s dialogues with the PML-N and PTI for seat adjustment in some constituencies have failed, we have finally decided to contest the elections on our own symbol, flag and manifesto. We have also advised our leaders and workers to formally launch election campaign from Sunday (today),” the JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan told reporters at a press conference at Mansoora after meeting of the party’s central executive committee (Markazi Majlis-e-Shoora) here on Saturday.

He said though the JI’s first two rounds of dialogues, separately with PML-N and PTI, remained successful, the third and final round on seat adjustment with these parties couldn’t bear fruit.

“We were also serious in reviving the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) but we wanted to get this issue resolved after identifying and removing the mistakes that caused collapse of the alliance. Besides, we wanted to devise a seat-allocation formula before revival of the MMA. But this couldn’t happen unluckily, causing restoration of the alliance by JUI-F and some other parties without the JI,” he explained.

He said the JUI-F couldn’t make the MMA function properly without the JI. While expressing his grave concern over the law and order situation in Balochistan, Karachi and KP, the JI Ameer urged the Election Commission to ensure free and fair polls in a peaceful manner.

“Since our workers too are being harassed in Karachi and other parts of the country, holding general elections in such circumstances seems no less than a challenge. So we ask the ECP to make arrangements to ensure peace during elections,” he added. He said the JI would resist any attempt leading to delay in elections.