TAXILA: While the opposition parties are contemplating efforts to convene a multi-party conference (MPC), the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Sunday announced its decision of distancing itself from the opposition’s anti-government front, blaming major opposition parties — the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz — for disunity among opposition ranks.

Talking to the media in Wah on Sunday, JI deputy chief Liaquat Baloch said that his party would not participate in the proposed MPC and instead would launch its own solo flight against the government.

He said that the JI had decided to play the role of “true opposition” in the light of its past experiences of alliance with the PPP and the PML-N. “We will keep in touch with all opposition parties but at this stage, the JI will not attend the MPC of the opposition parties. Rather, we will contact [Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief] Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other opposition leaders separately to discuss national issues if and when required.”

Liaquat says party will hold protests on its own

Mr Baloch said that the JI would not join the opposition alliance against the government as many parties in opposition ranks were not serious to this cause.

He said that the JI would extend moral support to the movement of the opposition parties against the government but it would launch its own protests against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government as it was unable to address the issues of the poor masses of the country.

Mr Baloch said that the JI Majlis-i-Shura had decided to continue political activities under its own flag.

He said that no legislation had been made to address genuine public issues in the past two years of the PTI government. He said that the masses had witnessed the PTI, the PML-N and the PPP uniting on the foreign- imposed agenda of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-related legislation.

Mr Baloch said that the PTI government had disappointed the masses as it had destroyed the economy and every state institution.

He said that a weak and incapable government, which had been imposed on the country, was unable to resolve the crises the country was facing. Therefore, the national leadership should join hands and develop a united strategy to bring the country out of the existing system.

The JI leader said that unemployment and inflation had made it impossible for a common man to afford even one meal per day. He said that the country was being run on the dictation of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the FATF.

He said that the PTI government had burdened the nation with Rs4,300 billion loan and the interior and foreign policies of the government had no logic.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2020