LOWER DIR: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said here on Monday that lawmakers of opposition parties should resign from the parliament.

Addressing a news conference at Timergara Press Club, he said JI would also think about resigning from the parliament if Pakistan Democratic Movement did so.

He said the death of seven patients at a Peshawar hospital proved incompetency and inefficiency of the PTI government. He said that JI had planned the second phase of its protest rallies against the government for its bad governance, price hike, unemployment and corruption. He said that rulers lacked vision and capability to govern the country.

“The PTI slogans have proved a mirage while the sectors of education and health are deteriorating,” Siraj alleged. He added that the country was facing a smart corruption that was not visible to the institutions. He said that there was not one but two Pakistans; one for the poor and the other for the elites.

JI chief says his party has planned second phase of agitation

He said that his party would strongly resist if the government tried to create hurdles to it during the protest rallies. “Agitation is our political right and no one can snatch it,” he added.

The JI chief said there was need of national dialogue on election reforms as free, fair and transparent elections were not possible in the country under the existing laws. He said that results of general elections would not be different from that of Gilgit that would create anarchy in the country.

Siraj alleged that government damaged the 73-year-old Kashmir narrative due to its weak foreign policy.

About the agitation of Pakistan Democratic Movement, he said that PML-N, PPP and PTI had similar agendas and there was no difference in their style of governance. He said that JI wanted to bring a real change and establish a real democracy and ‘Khilafat’ system.

Earlier, the JI chief along with local leaders of the party visited the residence of Dr Zakirullah Khan in Khanpur to condole his demise. He said that the deceased was a devoted politician.

FESTIVAL: The colourful sports festival in Timergara Sheikhan concluded here on Monday. The event arranged by Tanzeem Nawjawanan Sheikhan lasted for a month during which matches of cricket, volleyball, Kabaddi and tug-of-war were played among different clubs.

The local elders defeated the youth during a tug-of-war match and got applause from the audience. Local political activists Shoaib Ahmad, Bakhtawar Syed Saadat and Mohammad Raziq distributed trophies and shields among the winner and runner up teams and also announced Rs80,000 for the organising committee of the event.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2020