National

Military establishment must stop providing backing to political parties to come to power and allow people to elect their representatives through free elections.Sirajul Haq

LAHORE: Oct 30: Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq has said the military establishment must stop providing backing to political parties to come to power and allow people to elect their representatives through free elections.
Addressing the Youth Leadership Convention at Greater Iqbal Park here on Sunday, he said the PTI, the PML-N and the PPP were the beneficiaries of the system which establishment controlled as both sides (the ruling parties and establishment) caused irreparable damage to the country.

The youth should take a stand to get rid of the status quo and launch struggle for the rule of law, he said, asking the participants to spread the message of JI among the masses. The JI, he said, would fight against the ruling elite, ruling political parties and their supporters.

He regretted the establishment had a history of providing support to political parties, making selection in the name of election.

The institution’s fresh pledge to stay away from politics is welcoming but at the same time it raised question who would be held accountable for the damage done to the country so far, he questioned.

The country was on crossroad, he said, making every person worried about the future. But, he said, he never felt disappointed as the believed in the strength of country’s young generation. “You could build the country and make it proper among the unity.

He said the country was facing multiple crises in the shape of unemployment, poverty, inflation and corruption and they were the gifts of present and past governments. He said the PTI instead of holding long marches should inform the people about its performance. Both the PTI and the PDM held long marches, the nation knew about their reality, he said. The ruling elite was least concerned about the people of Pakistan as all their interests were to accumulate wealth and secure the future of their own kids, he said. The ruling parties, he said, destroyed the country from all sides.


Thousands of people including women, families and children participated in the convention. Youth leadership from Malaysia, UK and Turkey was also invited to address the gathering.