JHANG: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq says the nation demands an across-the-board accountability starting from the rule of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in 1999.

He was addressing a rally at Chund Bharwana, 15 kilometres from Jhang city, on Saturday.

He said PPP and PLN-N rulers had put the country in the slavery of foreign forces in the last 70 years but the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project would break the chain of slavery as it was actually against the benefits of India and the US.

He said deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif was crying foul at the verdict of disqualification. He said he should be grateful that he was still out of bars.

He said that by awarding ticket to Begum Kalsoom Nawaz for the NA-120 bye-elections, the PML-N had declared itself the Sharif family party.

He added that during the rally, Mr Sharif kept on criticising state institutions that are very much loyal to the country and the nation.

He said 6,000 corrupt people should be in jail in the best interest of the country as successive PPP and PML-N governments destroyed the national economy and lives of commoners.

He alleged that because of corrupt rulers, dogs of landlords were eating butter while the commoners had to struggle for a piece of bread. He appealed to the crowd to vote his party into power for a Pakistan where equal resources would be provided to all. He said the JI was a party of farmers and the common man.

Also, the JI has convened a consultative meeting at Mansoora on Aug 16 to discuss the latest political situation in the country.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2017