QUETTA, July 25: Chief of Jamiat Ahle Hadith Pakistan Senator Sajid Mir has urged all political and religious parties of the country to put aside their minor differences and join hands for a collective struggle ‘to rid the nation of the one-man rule and restore real democratic government for resolving people’s problems.’

Talking to newsmen at Quetta Press Club on Tuesday, Mir said the army rulers had failed to deliver, and their wrong policies had caused price hike and lawlessness in the country.

He said army’s interferences had destabilised the country’s political system. Unless the existing system was changed, there would be no improvement in the life of the common man.

He claimed that anti-government moves from separate platforms would not bear fruit. For reviving the constitutional rule and strengthening the political culture, all political and religious parties would have to unite.

Mir, who is also the vice president of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, said the difference between a dictator and an elected ruler is that “the former takes unilateral decisions at the cost of national interest while the latter consults the parliament for protecting the same.”

“Nawaz Sharif did not compromise on the issue of conducting nuclear tests but Gen. Musharraf took a U-turn after the US threat [after 9/11 terrorist attack],” he maintained.

Criticising the military operations in Balochistan and Waziristan, he said that the issue should be settled through political dialogue and not by use of force.

The use of force against civilians had divided the country in the past, he said, warning that the foreign powers could exploit the situation again.

Denouncing ‘the silence of the rulers of Islamic countries over Israel’s aggression against Lebanon’ the MMA leader asked the Muslim Ummah to unite against the excesses of the US which is backing Israel’s state terrorism.

He said yesterday the education department officials briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Education on the “disappointing situation in the colleges and schools of Balochistan.”

Even the schools located in the city were in shambles, he said, adding that some of them even lacked basic things like sitting desk, let alone the availability of good teachers and other essentials, he added.