JI chief calls for national dialogue to revive economy

Siraj accuses government of abandoning Kashmir cause, mortgaging economy to IMF

ISLAMABAD:

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq called for a national dialogue to revive the country’s economy, saying that half of the country’s budget is spent on interest.

Addressing a seminar in Islamabad on the death anniversary of former JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the JI chief pointed out the ills plaguing the national economy and the consequences the country had to face due to their persistence.

“Inflation and poverty has taken hold from house to house,” he said.

He also said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has proved to be “non-serious”.

Highlighting how the system is “outdated”, he called for improvement in light of Quran and Sunnah.

“The so-called democratic era and martial law brought the country to the brink of disaster, now only an Islamic system can save Pakistan,” the JI chief said. “For 73 years, the dream of the founders of Pakistan has not come true.”

He accused the government of placing Kashmir in a plate and handing it over to India and mortgaging the country’s economy to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  “The fact is that slavery has no policy,” he added.

“The country is at a crossroads, it has to be decided whether to go with the worn-out system or make the country an Islamic welfare state,” he further said.

Siraj said that Kashmir was not even mentioned during foreign ministers’ conference of Islamic countries in Islamabad. “By not recognizing Afghanistan, the leaders of the Islamic world have in fact sent a message to the United States that if Washington so desires, we can recognise Afghanistan, otherwise we cannot do so,” he added.

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He said that the rulers of the Islamic world were not interpreting the Ummah in the true sense.  The people of Islamic countries, which are rich in vast reserves and natural resources, are living a life of cosmopolitanism while the rulers have billions of dollars in assets, he added.

He further said that the Muslim Ummah is divided by an agenda on nation, race and other prejudices while Muslims are being persecuted all over the world.

“The Kashmir and Palestine issue has been pending for seven decades. India and Israel make new history of atrocities in the Kashmiri and Palestinian occupied territories, but the rulers of the Islamic countries are also silent spectators,” the JI chief said.

The speakers at the event paid tribute to the religious and national services of the former JI chief.

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser said that Qazi Ahmed was like his spiritual father.  He had very serious views on the Kashmir and Afghanistan issues.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said that Qazi Ahmed brought all schools of thought of the Muslim Ummah closer and he made JI dynamic and modern.

Dr Ghairat Baheer said that the Afghan nation is certainly poor, but not weak at all.  He said that even today decisions of Afghanistan should be left to Afghans.

Awami National Party’s (ANP) Senator Hidayatullah, former ambassador Abdul Basit, former ambassador Ayaz Wazir, former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Asad Durrani, Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan spokesman Ghairat  Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, and others also addressed the gathering.