Panama leaks: JI sticks to Faisalabad protest on Sept 30

Leaders believe going with Imran will repress their political identity

LAHORE: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has warned of intensifying countrywide protests if the government does not form a judicial commission to investigate Panama leaks, which showed three scions of the ruling Sharif family owned offshore assets in international tax havens.

The party leaders announced staging a rally in Faisalabad on September 30, the same day when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is scheduled to hold its much-publicised anti-government rally in Raiwind.

The announcement came after a consultative meeting of the JI leaders on Sunday to review the changing political situation in the wake of the Panama Papers.



The party has, however, decided to hold a separate protest on September 30 as the leaders believe going along with Imran Khan’s party would repress their own political identity.

JI chief Sirajul Haq told The Express Tribune that the JI Shura noted that five months have passed since the Panama leaks surfaced but the rulers had not set up a judicial commission to probe the case. “This proves the rulers are not prepared for a transparent inquiry,” he said, adding the JI was determined to continue its drive against corruption.

Siraj said the opposition parties would present a common line of action against corruption in the first week of October. He added the JI wanted accountability of all previous governments. “If the government had solved the issues in the assemblies, the public would not have been forced to take to the streets.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2016.