TIMERGARA, Dec 31: Jamaat-i-Islami central deputy chief Sirajul Haq said here on Monday that Dr Tahirul Qadri and Muttahida Qaumi Movement wanted to postpone the upcoming general elections by holding their proposed long march.

“But the nation would not let them do so,” he told a workers convention, organised by Talash chapter of Shabab-i-Milli. He said that a second Bangladesh would come into being if general elections were postponed.

The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader said that rulers gifted lawlessness, unemployment, price hike, power loadshedding and corruption to the nation during the past five years. He said that rulers were busy in transferring their money to foreign banks.

JI nominated Sahibzada Yaqub Khan as its candidate for NA-34 constituency, Muzafar Syed for PK-94 and Sultanat Yar Bukhari for PK 97. Former MPA Dr Inayatul Haq, Advocate Rahimullah, Shabab-i-Milli district president Nawab Badshah, Hizbul Mujahideen district organiser Sirajud Din and Mohammad Raziq also addressed the convention.

Sirajul Haq blamed the ruling Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party for turning the region into a dump of explosives and arms. He said that the region had natural resources like rivers, minerals, forests and fertile agricultural lands but rulers failed to utilise those resources.

The JI leader said that rivers in Malakand had a capacity to generate a lot of energy but no hydropower project was launched in the area.

He said that a state could not be defended only with the help of arms. He said that government ignored youth, who were the real protectors of the country.

He said that public money was being spent on perks and privileges of ministers.

Other speakers claimed that JI would form next government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the leadership of Sirajul Haq. They said that not only civic problems of the people would be resolved but the party would make present rulers accountable for each penny they had plundered. The speakers also asked the civil administration not to be part of corruption otherwise they would be also taken to task. They alleged that merit was violated in recruitments as illegal appointments were made in health and other government departments.

They said that JI would provide jobs to youth of the area on merit and their rights would not be violated.

Later, Sirajul Haq administered oath to the newly elected office-bearers of Anjuman Tajiran Talash during a function held at Talash Bazaar.

Addressing the function, he said that traders were forced to transfer their money to foreign countries and invest it there owing to poor law and order situation in the country.

The JI leader said that traders were facing security problems and that’s why they were not ready to invest in Pakistan. He promised that JI would provide adequate security to businessmen if it came into power.