LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Senator Sirajul Haq has lamented that the PTI government, instead of bringing the angry Baloch leaders to the negotiation table, was alienating those who are already its allies and standing by the federation.

Referring to the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) withdrawal from the PTI-led coalition government, Mr Haq told reporters at Mansoora on Thursday that Sardar Akhtar Mengal highlighted all the injustices being meted out to the people of Balochistan in his National Assembly speech.

The BNP leader, Haq said, clearly stated the PTI failed to honour the commitments it had made regarding resolving the province’s issues.

He regretted that the prime minister was not serious in handling the prevailing crises in the country.

The prime minister, he added, instead of listening to allies and addressing their reservations, entrapped them in non-issues.

He said the premier should have held meetings with the members of the provincial government and other stakeholders during his visit to Sindh as the step would have helped lessen the growing differences between the Centre and Sindh.

The JI chief said the Imran Khan government, like its predecessors, the PML-N and the PPP, had also failed to fulfill its promise about the creation of south Punjab province.

He said the people of southern districts of Punjab, particularly and of other areas, generally, had lost trust in the ruling elite and were not willing to give them further time.

He said the prices of flour, sugar and other basic food items had gone out of the public’s reach, while the ruling party seemed least concerned about the real issues.

JI Secretary General Ameerul Azim said the prime minister did not even bother to visit any hospital of Lahore despite passage of more than three months since coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

Science and Technology Minister Fawad Hussain, he added, was making predictions about Eid instead of focusing on the real domain of his ministry. He said it seemed the government was not ready to change its direction and suggesting anything positive to them was a waste of time. He appealed to the people to vote for honest and dedicated leadership to bring the country out of crises it was facing.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2020