JI Ameer proposes five-point formula

Sirajul Haq says staging protest is a constitutional right of opposition

LAHORE:

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Thursday proposed a five-point formula to pull the country out of the debilitating political crisis.

Unveiling his formula at a news conference in Lahore, Haq said that votes should be recounted in contentious constituencies; the judicial commission should complete its investigation into rigging complaints at the earliest; the Election Commission of Pakistan should be reconstituted; and the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms should submit its recommendations within three months. He added that heads of all political parties should give guidelines on holding the elections on proportionate representation to check blackmailing by parties.



The JI ameer said that change of government should be only in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution as any extra-constitutional method would have disastrous repercussions for all.

He said that all the apprehensions of bloodshed and violence during the long march have proved untrue. He added that staging a long march and holding peaceful protest was a constitutional right of the opposition, and the government should not smash such protest through any unlawful method. “Political confrontation could only lead to a tragedy and violent protest ran counter to democratic norms,” he added.

Haq also thanked the country’s political and religious groups and the media for encouraging the JI leadership in its efforts to broker some kind of understanding between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. “Jamaat-e-Islami will not give up its efforts and ensure the long march doesn’t turn into a ‘double march’,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th,2014.