Nation stands firm with Kashmiri’s freedom movement though Islamabad surrenders: Siraj

LAHORE, Jan 30 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq has said that though Islamabad has made a surrender on Kashmir cause, the nation is standing shoulder to shoulder with the freedom struggle of the people of the occupied valley.

“I appeal to the nation to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day with new zeal and commitment on February 5 to convey a clear message to Delhi on Kashmir cause,” he said while addressing reception in honour of the leadership of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference at Mansoorah on Monday.

“People of Pakistan must come out of their homes on Feb 5 to tell the butcher of Gujrat [prime minister of India] that we will never leave alone our Kashmiri brethren in their fight to get freedom from Indian yoke. Pakistan is body and Kashmir is its soul. Kashmir is a matter of completion of Pakistan.”

He said the JI had never been in favour of giving provincial status to Gilgit Baltistan until the settlement of the Kashmir issue according to the UN resolution. He said that declaring GB as the province of Pakistan would ultimately weaken Islamabad’s moral and legal stance on the Kashmir issue.

He said Pakistan should facilitate Kashmiri leadership to raise the issue internationally instead of leaving it to Pakistani politicians and diplomats. Sirajul Haq condemned the bomb blast at Peshawar Mosque in the strongest words and termed it another barbaric and cruel inhuman act in the country’s history, offering condolences to the families of martyrs and praying for the quick recovery of the injured.

The JI chief also criticized the rise in petroleum products and demanded the government take it back. The inflation, he said, was the result of the government’s ill-conceived economic policies.

Instead of demanding sacrifices from the poor masses, he said the ruling elite should also make sacrifices this time. They, he added, would never agree to compromise on their protocols and luxury lifestyle on taxpayers’ money. He said the PDM, the PPP and the PTI failed to deliver and were exposed badly. He said the JI would put the country on track if voted to power.