Delay in elections under any excuse will be fatal for democracy & the country: Sirajul Haq

LAHORE, August 02 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Sirajul Haq has made it clear that the delay in elections under any excuse will be fatal for democracy and the country.

The ruling parties, Sirajul Haq said while presiding over a central leadership meeting at Mansoorah on Wednesday, were unable to face the public due to their bad performance. They, therefore, are trying to create delaying tactics in the poll process, he added, referring to the prime minister census proclamation.

The meeting condemned the Bajur incident, offering fateh for the deceased and praying for the early recovery of the injured.

Sirjaul Haq said the government’s prime responsibility was to protect the people, which the rulers had failed. He said the resurgence of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan could engulf the country if the government and security agencies did not recognize their duty. The political parties, he said, must sit together to develop a consensus on national security measures. He said millions of people were directly affected by the fresh wave of terrorism, target killing and other security threats in north and west of the country.

Sirajul Haq said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had taken out long marches against inflation before coming to power in April 2022. However, he said, after making the governments, they hit the masses hard by jacking up prices of essential food items, electricity, gas and petroleum products multiple times under the direction of the IMF. The government, he said, had not controlled its own expenses, spending billions on useless foreign visits and protocols. Rampant corruption, interest-based economy and bad-governance were the real problems which only the honest and dedicated leadership could address and put the country on track, he added, appealing to the masses to vote for the JI if they wanted real change.