LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq has said that dialogue among political parties is indispensable to put the country on a democratic path.

He told reporters on Sunday that undemocratic forces got an opportunity to come into power as a result of clashes among political parties in the past.

He said that all stakeholders should come on the same page for conducting transparent elections and dialogue among political forces is a must to put the country on a truly democratic path.

He regretted that for the first time in the history of the country, there is an open war ongoing between the parliament and the court.

Mr Haq said that the national institutions have become controversial and are badly divided, fights among the ruling parties are not ending and this fight or disagreement is not for any national or public agenda but for power.

He said that there is no shortage of resources in the country. The problem is their unfair distribution, corruption and mismanagement.

He said the elite, two percent of the country’s population, has usurped the resources of 98 percent of the people as the rulers are not ready to reduce their protocol and privileges.

He said the federal cabinet of the debt-ridden country consists of 85 members.

The JI leader said that all countries of South Asia have surpassed Pakistan, while inflation in the country has reached its historical peak and the situation has come to a point that in the last few days, 20 people lost their lives for a bag of flour.

Due to the incompetence of the current and previous governments, every sector of the economy suffered disaster, businessmen are getting calls for extortion and kidnapping for ransom, but the rulers were asleep, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2023