LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Senator Sirajul Haq has welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s decision to visit Saudi Arabia and Iran as part of Pakistan’s effort to ease tensions between the two countries.

He said the effort would yield positive results. “It is need of the hour,” he said in a statement here on Saturday.

Senator Haq also criticised the Sindh Assembly for adopting a bill to empower the provincial government to withdraw any case before the courts. “It is a blatant attempt to protect criminals,” he said, adding the amended law would be used to achieve political ends and all political parties would protect criminals.

Mr Haq said crime had been considerably reduced in Karachi because of the operation however the amended law would encourage criminals and law breakers and the ruling parties would not be prepared to hand over their workers to the law enforcement institutions.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016