PESHAWAR/TIMERGARA: Jamaat-i-Islami provincial chief Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has said that 50 per cent of the party tickets would be given to youths in the next general elections.

Speaking at the JI Youth Festival in Peshawar on Thursday, he said that his party believed in investment in youths instead of spending funds on mega projects like metro and orange trains.

Youths from different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are participating in the two-day events comprising quiz competitions, recitation, paintings and magic shows, said a statement.

He said that JI was not against construction of highways and other mega projects, but its top priority was development of human resources. In this connection, he announced that JI would allot 50 per cent of the tickets to youths in the upcoming general elections.

Senator Mushtaq claims other parties discouraging youths

He said that other political parties had discouraged youths and only few families had encroached upon politics. He said that the estimated population of youths was 140 million, but they were not provided opportunities to play their role in nation building.

Senator Mushtaq claimed that Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal would win the next elections and would form government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the recently-revived alliance of five religious parties would eliminate secular and liberal forces in the next elections.

The JI leader said that central cabinet of MMA had been formed and its setup at the provincial level would be announced within a week.

In Timergara, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Senator Sirajul Haq said on Thursday that Pakistan would be made a true welfare state if the religious parties alliance was given a chance to rule it.

Mr Haq was addressing a function at Madressah Taleemul Quran here in Khall as chief guest where he and other religious scholars distributed certificates and turbaned 109 students on completion of their education.

He also said that MMA had planned a workers’ convention in Islamabad in the first week of April. “I have proposed the name of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for the slot of caretaker prime minister,” the JI chief said, adding that Dr Khan was the most suitable person for the slot because of his apolitical and impartial personality.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2018