JI to stage its own march against inflation, unemployment, says party leader
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SUKKUR: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) acting emir Liaquat Baloch has said his party would stage a protest march against inflation, unemployment and other problems faced by people.
He said: “We welcome the protest announced by the opposition, but we will not be part of any grand opposition alliance or any movement.”
He was talking to reporters after addressing an Eid Milan party at Al-Mehran Cultural Centre Sukkur on the third day of Eid on Friday, arranged by former student activists belonging to the JI Sindh chapter.
Liaquat Baloch said the politics of alliance had become ineffective, therefore, the JI had decided not to be part of any alliance. However, the JI would stand with the religious parties if any attempt was made to change Islamic laws or the ideology of the country.
In reply to a question, Mr Baloch said the attitude of Imran Khan had made accountability a joke as on one hand he talked about the State of Madina while on the other there was talk of accepting Israel. That attitude was creating problems for Pakistan, he said.
He said that if Imran did not improve his attitude and principles, he could go like former prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
Mr Baloch said that when powerful rulers like Chaudhry Shujaat, Shaukat Aziz, Yousuf Raza Gillani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Nawaz Sharif failed to survive, how could Imran Khan manage?
The prime minister could be accepted if he changed his attitude, otherwise he would have to quit.
Talking about political conditions in the country, he said politics, parliament and assemblies were weakening while people were not being given any relief at a time when inflation and unemployment were increasing.
He said that strong conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deprived people of economic freedom and national sovereignty, adding that Imran Khan was moving towards failure.
He said inflation and unemployment remained high during Ramazan. He said the team running national financial institutions had been imposed by the IMF.
Liaquat Baloch said he had attended an Iftar dinner hosted by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and it was decided there that a multiparty conference would be called hosted by Maulana Fazlur Rehman to review political situation in detail.
Others who also spoke on the occasion included JI Pakistan deputy emir Maulana Asadullah Bhutto, JI Sindh emir Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, provincial general secretary Kashif Saeed Shaikh, Zubair Hafeez Shaikh and Abdul Hafeez Bijarani.
Addressing an Eid Milan party of JI’s Hyderabad chapter the other day, Mr Baloch said the agreement with the IMF was signed by the government without bringing it to parliament for debate.
He said the government had failed in accountability of 436 people, which benefited the corrupt. People wanted accountability across the board, he added.
Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, Hyderabad district emir Hafiz Tahir Majeed, Abdul Waheed Qureshi, Mujahid Baloch, Shaikh Shaukat Ali and Mushtaq Ahmed Khan were also present.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had raised six points at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), but he should explain his Kashmir policy. He said that initially a Shia-Sunni divide was given effect and then Iran-Iraq conflict was seen. He said that now conspiracies were being hatched against Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
He said people had pinned hopes on Imran Khan but he could not meet their expectations, demanding that the Constitution should be implemented in its true spirit. He said price hike and unemployment had increased and that volcano could erupt any time. He said the JI would be launching its movement from June 16.
The present government had completed almost a year, but it failed to deliver, he said, adding that Pakistan was strong and people were proud of their armed forces, but the country needed an efficient team to ensure service delivery.
He said Imran Khan kept calling Narendra Modi like Nawaz Sharif, but the Indian PM did not take his calls.
Mr Baloch was of the view that dictators talked confidently at international forums, but they always lacked policies.
Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2019
