TAXILA: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq said the establishment felt embarrassed after the failure of the ‘PTI project’ and brought back the former ruling parties into power.

He was speaking at a press conference in Attock along with local leadership and office-bearers of the JI district chapter on Monday. He said it had been proved that the three parties nurtured under the umbrella of the establishment and there was no difference among their policies.

The JI chief demanded that the inquiry report of the Lasbela incident should be made public as the whole nation wanted to know the reason behind the tragedy.

Responding to a question, the JI chief said new elections were the only panacea of problems faced by people. He was of the view that all political parties, including PTI, only made hue and cry and did not want accountability at all as their interests were common.

He also demanded that the election commission should be made independent administratively and financially to ensure free, fare and transparent elections. He said it was beyond comprehension that on the one hand PTI MNAs were resigning from assemblies and on the other Imran Khan was filing nomination papers for by-elections.

He warned the government against taking anti-poor decisions on the pressure of the IMF, saying the incumbent rulers should review the agreements with the international agencies instead of surrendering for dollars.

The government, he said, must abolish the VIP culture, interest-based economy, non-developmental expenditures and take other measures in light of Islamic teachings to promote the economy. He said that the prices of food and basic needs had soared sharply making the items completely out of the reach of the common man.

Fuel, gas and electricity prices have skyrocketed but the rulers are unmoved and in exchange for taking one and a half billion dollars loan from the IMF, the government is threatening to raise the price of electricity by Rs40 per unit.

The government, he added, increased the electricity tariff and was set to raise petrol prices on the pressure of the IMF. “Corruption and bad governance are the main reasons behind the current crises,” he said.

The JI chief said PDM, PPP and the PTI were interested in mutual fights than paying any attention on problems being faced by the masses.

“People want to get rid of old faces. The nation should be given a chance to decide who they support. The nation has tried all the three parties and now they want to run the country on the Islamic system,” he said.

He claimed that for the survival of the country, it was necessary for the people to change the system, adding people of Pakistan must stand for their rights and reject the tested faces.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2022