JI chief rails against country’s exploitative political leadership

Addressing rallies across Sindh, Haq pledges to bring Islamic governance to Pakistan.

HYDERABAD:

"Who is responsible for your plight today?" Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq asked the people of Hyderabad in a public meeting on Friday, before answering his own question. "It is you, because you have voted for Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)!"

Speaking at rallies in Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin and Mirpurkhas districts on Saturday, Haq said that mid-term elections would not resolve the problems that Pakistan faced. He welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech in the United Nations General Assembly, in which he raised the issue of Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Reiterating his disapproval for MQM's demand for new provinces, he said that this formula would incite ethnic violence. He urged the people of rural Sindh to support his party in the next elections, pledging to bring true Islamic governance to the country.

"Corrupt leaders are present all over Pakistan, from the feudal lords of Sindh and the sardars of Balochistan to the Chaudhries of Punjab and the Khans of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa," Haq declared. "Bhutto shouted the slogan of roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, clothes and a house). We don't doubt his intentions, but his party has utterly failed to deliver on his promise."

Haq embarked upon his maiden visit to Sindh on Friday, appealing to the public to support his party in order to emancipate themselves from the existing exploitative political leadership. He was welcomed by JI supporters as he travelled from Karachi to Thatta, where he addressed them at three different places. He also spoke at a rally in Jamshoro district, and, in Hyderabad addressed a press conference with Qaumi Awami Tehreek leader Ayaz Palijo.

"I want to make people realise that their current leaders will continue to ignore their responsibilities to them," he explained. "I also want to ask them about the problems that they face and how they want these issues to be resolved."

Haq, whose party wants to establish Islamic governance in Pakistan, told people to embrace the religious system for their own good. "Under this system, the deputy commissioners and the SHOs will be made to sit in the mosques and serve the people by solving their problem, much as the Holy Prophet (pbuh) used to do."

Haq invited Sindhis to attend his November 21 rally in Lahore, where the JI will launch a reinvigorated "Pakistan Movement" to establish a true Islamic Republic of Pakistan. "On that day, we will hoist the ajrak flag of Sindh by the side of the Pakistani flag," he declared.

Opposing loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Haq said that the country should rely on its own economic resources, while the political parties should set aside their difference and unite against the serious security threats Pakistan faces.

Responding to a question, he added that JI would also reach out to pacify the Baloch who have taken up arms.

The JI chief will hold rallies in three other districts of Sindh on Sunday.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2014.