JI chief backs general elections on same day

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Central Amir Sirajul Haq on Sunday joined hands with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), at least on the issue of general elections, and demanded holding of polls on the same day across the country under an independent judiciary, election commission and an impartial establishment.

Addressing an aman jalsa, as part of the tribal rights movement, in the Bara area of Khyber tribal district, Siraj said that the PDM and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) governments were responsible for the prevailing economic crisis and the runaway inflation in the country.

“The establishment creates conflicts among politicians and then different factions begin to fight each other,” he said, adding that these brutal tactics could not be tolerated anymore.

The JI chief demanded that the elections should be held on a single day across the country but impartial establishment was also a must to hold transparent elections.

“There should be an independent judiciary and an independent election commission to make sure that the vote is held in a free and fair manner,” he stressed, adding if this is not the case then elections will be just a waste of time.

Siraj said that there is widespread destruction and despair in the tribal districts but the ruling elite have deviated from the promises made at the time of merger for the development of the tribal areas.

He maintained that the education and health sectors had been destroyed in militancy which needed to be rehabilitated on war footing.

“If we are voted to power, we will provide free education to the people like in the past,” he maintained.

The JI amir shared that if tribal people do not get justice, the courts should be locked.

He alleged that eighteen families of the ruling parties own assets worth Rs4,000 billion which they collected through corruption.

Criticizing Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other PDM leaders, Siraj said that they staged protest against inflation during the PTI government but after getting power, he could not see the current situation of inflation. The JI chief alleged that PTI was in power in the province for the last 9 years but did not develop the province.

He stated that the province had gone bankrupt as corruption increased by the day. He stressed that people should trust the responsible leadership of JI by voting for the party to get the country out of the current economic problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2023.