LBA address: ‘Mandela, Arafat were once ‘terrorists’ too’
JI chief calls for dialogue with Taliban.
LAHORE:
The Jamaat-i-Islami ameer on Wednesday stressed the importance of dialogue with the Taliban, saying that Nelson Mandela and Yasser Arafat were once been labelled terrorists but were later acknowledged as democratic leaders.
Syed Munawwar Hasan was addressing the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) at Aiwan-i-Adl.
He demanded that the military operation in South Waziristan be stopped and dialogue started. “Dialogue is the only way to steer the country out of [war],” said Hasan, “every problem can be settled at a table.”
The JI ameer said that peace would return to Pakistan when America leaves the country.
Hasan said Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani needed to take the nation into confidence about the military operation and explain what the military had lost and achieved.
He said the military was responsible for the widening gap between the people and the army. “ISPR press releases hide facts,” he said. “Why isn’t the media allowed to report from those areas?”
Hasan praised the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Asghar Khan case, saying that the Chief Justice of Pakistan had, one again, given the nation hope.
The JI chief ruled out the possibility of free and fair elections under President Asif Ali Zardari.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2012.
The Jamaat-i-Islami ameer on Wednesday stressed the importance of dialogue with the Taliban, saying that Nelson Mandela and Yasser Arafat were once been labelled terrorists but were later acknowledged as democratic leaders.
Syed Munawwar Hasan was addressing the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) at Aiwan-i-Adl.
He demanded that the military operation in South Waziristan be stopped and dialogue started. “Dialogue is the only way to steer the country out of [war],” said Hasan, “every problem can be settled at a table.”
The JI ameer said that peace would return to Pakistan when America leaves the country.
Hasan said Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani needed to take the nation into confidence about the military operation and explain what the military had lost and achieved.
He said the military was responsible for the widening gap between the people and the army. “ISPR press releases hide facts,” he said. “Why isn’t the media allowed to report from those areas?”
Hasan praised the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Asghar Khan case, saying that the Chief Justice of Pakistan had, one again, given the nation hope.
The JI chief ruled out the possibility of free and fair elections under President Asif Ali Zardari.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2012.