Govt should allocate seats for overseas Pakistanis in parliament: Sirajul Haq

LAHORE, August 08 (SABAH): Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Sirajul Haq has said that the government should allocate seats for overseas Pakistanis in parliament. Sirajul Haq has said that overseas Pakistanis face problems abroad and back at home due to lethargic attitude of the concerned ministries and embassies. “Pakistani expats should elect their representatives within the community living abroad through direct elections and send them to the assemblies to make their voice heard properly,” he said, saying the governments mere made hollow claims to address problems of overseas. He said that the properties of the overseas Pakistanis are being confiscated and occupied and their complaints are not being addressed. He said that remittances of $30 billion is big source of supporting Pakistani economy, adding that delaying the resolution of the problems of those send money has become the routine of the government and bureaucracy, adding that the suppression should be stopped.

This was stated by Emir JI Pakistan Sirajul Haq while addressing the two-day long international conference at Mansoorah. The conference was attended by delegations from 25 countries. The conference was hosted by Foreign Affairs Department of the JI. Secretary General JI Ameerul Azim, Emir JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Professor Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Deputy Secretary General Azhar Iqbal Hassan, Director JI Foreign Affairs Department Asif Luqman Qazi, JI senior leader Hafiz Muhammad Idrees and Information Secretary JI Qaiser Sharif were also present on the occasion.

Sirajul Haq said that Pakistani embassies should be activated for the resolution of the problems of the overseas Pakistanis, adding that the officials of the embassies instead of completion of their job tenure of searching jobs for their relatives should spare some time for the Pakistanis. He said that the Pakistanis are removed from job by the companies abroad and their contract did not enjoy the legal protection, adding that on miner mistake they are kept in jails for years. He said that overseas ministry and embassies should address these issues. He said that the fares of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) should be decreased.

Sirajul Haq regretted the Pakistanis and Muslims from other countries faced hate crimes in West. The Islamophobia went on unchecked in Europe and America in past many years, he said, calling for united efforts to curb the menace. He said Islam was religion of peace and love but its followers were living under constant oppression in all over the world. He said Palestine and Kashmir were the two main examples where the believers of Islam had been facing worst human rights crime since decades. He said the imperialistic forces were engaged in the dirty games in Middle East to capture the resources of Muslim world.

Sirajul Haq said enemies of Islam were bent upon damaging the ideological identity of Pakistan but they would never succeed in their conspiracies. He said the JI would continue fighting for the rights of the people of the country.