KARAK: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said on Saturday that Rs12 billion corruption was taking place daily in the country and its debt had swelled to $70 billion because of the corrupt rulers.

He was addressing a public meeting here to launch his party’s ‘corruption-free Pakistan’ movement. He claimed that the corrupt rulers had deposited $375 billion in foreign banks.

The JI chief expressed strong reservations about the role of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and alleged that the bureau had made underhand deals with the corrupt elements.

He said that NAB was releasing those who had looted billions of rupees after taking a few millions from them and said that the resources of the country were in a few hands.

Mr Haq said that thieves could not make accountability of thieves as they were protecting each other. He claimed that JI was the only party that could make accountability of the corrupt elements.

He said that Pakistan Peoples Party and PML-N were awarding party tickets to corrupt people in elections. He also criticised the election commission for clearing corrupt candidates without caring for the Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

Siraj says Rs12bn corruption taking place daily in country

He said that his party had now come forward to launch a campaign against corruption and they would take action against all those involved in corrupt practices.

He criticised the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for passing, what he called, a shameful law regarding women and warned that Mr Sharif should not try to prove himself as the chief minister of Europe.

Mr Haq claimed that if voted to power the JI would provide free of cost facilities of health and education, houses to the homeless and jobs to the unemployed.

He resolved that VIP culture would be rooted out and non-development expenditures would be spent on the welfare of masses.

On this occasion, party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that they had launched ‘Zarb-i-Azb’ against corruption and corrupt elements from Karak district.

He said that there was no democracy in the country rather there was dacoits rule (Dakocracy) in the country and alleged that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had been sucking the blood of innocent people to buy assets in UK and expand his business.

The JI leader said that the local people had the first right over the natural resources of Karak district. He resolved to resist any ban on Tableegh in the country.

On this occasion, scores of people resigned from other parties and joined JI. Party’s district president Maulana Tasleem Iqbal also addressed the gathering.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2016