United for a cause : Workers’ convention will bring about a change, says JI chief

Thousands of party supporters from across the country participate in the event

KARACHI: The workers' convention in Sindh will bring about a change in the whole country, said Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq.

He was speaking to the media before the workers' convention, which was held at Bagh-e-Jinnah on Saturday evening.

Haq visited the arrangements made for the workers' convention, along with the leaders and the media representatives. He also thanked the workers and leaders for arranging the convention on such a large scale. JI, Pakistan vice-president Asadullah Bhutto, JI's Sindh chief Mairajul Huda Siddiqui and JI's Karachi head Naeemur Rehman were also present at the event.



"The poor people of Sindh have been oppressed in every way," he remarked, adding that neither are there any teachers in public schools nor do people have access to basic facilities such as water. Hospitals and schools in Sindh are treated like stables, he added.

Since the inception of Pakistan, the people in Sindh have been ruled and ruined, he said, adding that, according to World Bank statistics, Karachi is among the 10 cities in which it is very difficult to live in.

"People across the world have reached the Moon and Mars, yet people [in Karachi] are still facing water crisis," he said. The chief minister of the province was changed but there has been no change in the lives of people, he added.

Speaking about the Rs83 billion taken from the national treasury, he said that the money was allocated for a scheme in Larkana but nothing was built on the land. "No one from our party is involved in any corruption, which is why we always stand up firm against corrupt leaders," he said, adding  they do not have anyone in their party whose name was included in the Panama papers.



Criticising the feudal system, he said that land owners have made poor farmers their slaves and act as if they are the rulers of the province. "We will make efforts for the people who have been treated as slaves," he said, adding that they party will also announce a road map to relieve them of their hardships.

Speaking about the former Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif's decision to retire, he said, "He left a good example for others". The nation is hopeful and expects that new COAS will continue Sharif's legacy, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2016.