Sirajul Haq calls for the restoration of subsidies on electricity, gas & other basic needs in the budget

LAHORE, May 23 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Sirajul Haq has said that if the PTI made the government in 2018 with the backing of the establishment, the incumbent alliance of the PDM and the PPP also come to power by adopting the same pattern, holding the troika responsible for the prevailing economic and political crises.

Presiding over the party meeting at Mansoorah on Tuesday, Sirajul Haq expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the country and particularly the rise in terrorism incidents in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The meeting condemned the Zhob suicide attack on the JI Emir Sirajul Haq, demanding a transparent investigation into the terror incident. It welcomed the release of Maulana Hidayatur Rahman Baloch from jail on Tuesday at the order of the Supreme Court.

Sirjaul Haq congratulated the people of Gwadar on the release of Baloch, asking the government to honour the agreement it signed with the Gwadar Rights Movement. He called for the restoration of subsidies on electricity, gas and other basic needs in the budget.

He said the country was burning due to the fight between the PDM and the PTI, as neither side was willing to adopt the seriousness and come to the table for dialogue. He said the destruction of the economy was the direct result of the prevailing political crises. He said the gap between the poor and rich had widened to a dangerous level, vanishing the middle class. He said the prices of the basic food items were beyond the reach of a common man. He said the large population was living without education and health facilities, and even clean drinking was not available to over 70-80 per cent public. He said the law and justice served the rich, depriving the poor. The general public, he said, was simmering with sorrow and anger, which was on the verge of erupting.

Sirajul Haq said the JI believed in the peaceful struggle for the rights of the people and condemned all kinds of violence in politics. The JI, he said, would continue its efforts to transform the country into an Islamic welfare state.