Presidential system will spell doom, says JI chief

Sirajul Haq terms PTI govt new edition of PPP, Musharraf govts

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Siraj ul Haq has said the country will face chaos if the presidential form of government is imposed on it as in that case it would not be possible to unite all the different nationalities and federating units.

“The presidential system broke the country. General Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf had complete authority yet the issues of the country were not resolved. The public wants end to poverty, inflation and unemployment and not the presidential system," he said on Saturday.

Sirajul Haq was addressing a press conference at the JI’s headquarters at Mansura along with the JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch and central information secretary Qaiser Sharif.



Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over its performance, he termed the nine months of the government an accumulation of failures, disappointment and deprivation.

“All political parties gave the government the chance to play freely but the government has failed to deliver. No one feels the need to protest against the PTI government consisting of people from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Musharraf.”

He said the current government is a new edition of the PPP and Musharraf governments, which came into power, he said, owing to the failures and incompetence of former governments.

“The government deserves accolades for proving in nine months that it is incompetent. Not just one or two ministers in the government but the entire lot is incompetent,” he added.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier raised slogans against unemployment and said he preferred suicide over approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans.

"Imran Khan is taking loans from the IMF after accepting their conditions. He has implemented the IMF's demands even before grant of package," he said. Haq said the government is presenting loans as good news for the nation, adding that finance minister Asad Umar was removed on directives of the IMF and the World Bank.

The JI chief rejected the proposed tax amnesty scheme saying this amnesty is being given to convert black money into white money. He reminded that the government had promised to bring back the looted wealth through accountability but has failed to bring back even one dollar in 9 months.

He said the National Action Plan (NAP) was made to curb terrorism but ‘the slaves of Western imperialism’ had shifted its focus toward religious seminaries. “In the presence of the current government, the Islamic image, ideology and geography of Pakistan are under threat,” he added.