KARACHI: Jamaat Islami Emir Senator Sirajul Haq has said the people of Karachi want to live in an atmosphere free of fear as “the days of G-3 are over and now it is the era of 3-G”.

Addressing a public meeting held on Sunday on Shahrah-i-Pakistan near Ayesha Manzil in connection with the campaign of Rashid Naseem, the JI’s candidate for by-election in the NA-246 constituency, he said people wanted election, not selection.

“People of Karachi have a choice to vote either for good or evil which are represented by Rashid Naseem and Faisal Mota,” he said.

People of the constituency urged to vote for bringing change in city

He advised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement leadership to withdraw its candidate before April 23, the day of polling, “to save itself from a disgracing defeat”.

The JI chief appealed to the people of the constituency to vote for bringing about a change in Karachi and said that the process of eradication of terrorism and restoration of peace in the city would begin on the polling day.

“April 23 is the day of judgment and an end to despotism of sector-in-charges,” he said, adding that the politics of brute force would work no more. It will be the politics of service and fraternal relations which will prevail.

He said the people’s right to vote was as powerful as a nuclear bomb which should be used against coercion and oppression.

He said the people of the city had fully supported the MQM and Altaf Hussain but got nothing in return except extortion, target killings and terrorism which had tarnished the image of Karachi and destroyed its peace.

A peaceful Karachi was needed for the progress of Pakistan, the JI chief added.

He said that Nabeel Gabol had confessed that massive rigging had taken place in the constituency in the 2013 general elections.

“After coming to power, the JI will eliminate class- based education system and introduce a uniform system in all educational institutions to ensure that children of the poor and the elite acquired similar education. Free medical treatment and subsidy on five basic commodities will be introduced for low income people.”

He said the JI wanted to make Pakistan a prosperous welfare state.

Rashid Naseem, the party’s candidate, said the NA-246 constituency belonged to the late Professor Ghafoor Ahmed and, therefore, he believed that the JI would succeed in reviving its past glory on April 23.

He said the MQM had been in power since 1984 but failed to deliver. He accused the party of being responsible for the destruction of infrastructure and education, healthcare and transport sectors in the city.

JI leaders Asadullah Bhutto, Mohammad Hussain Mehenti and Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman also addressed the meeting. They said the JI leadership had served the people of the city without any discrimination during its tenure.

They urged the Election Commission of Pakistan and the authorities concerned to ensure peaceful election on April 23.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2015

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