LAHORE, May 15: If certain elements can be brainwashed to become suicide bombers, they can also be debriefed and persuaded to lead peace missions, says Islamic Democratic Front Chairman Muneer Gilani.

“Democracy is an ultimate solution to all problems the world over,” said Mr Gilani, also the former deputy secretary-general of the defunct Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, during a talk with reporters on Tuesday. “But in Pakistan, politicians’ infighting makes democracy the mother of all problems which is pathetic,” he said.

Mr Gilani went into political hibernation after the murder of PPP leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007. His party remained a part of the People’s Democratic Alliance in 1990 and then the ARD in 2000. He says as the politics for the restoration of democracy is over, it is time to do politics for social justice.

He said he would launch a ‘single man’s strike’ drive to resolve issues such as unemployment, power crisis, inflation and law and order. — Staff Reporter