Refusal of govt & ECP to accept the Supreme Court decision on Punjab polls is violation of the Constitution: Sirajul Haq

  LAHORE, Mar 25 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Sirajul Haq has said that the refusal of the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan to accept the Supreme Court decision on Punjab polls is the violation of the Constitution.

The consequences of the situation could be dangerous, Sirajul Haq warned while addressing a press conference at Mansoorah on Saturday. Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameerul Azim, JI Information Secretary Qaiser Sharif and Muhammad Javed Kasuri were also present on the occasion.

The PDM and the PTI must hold ceasefire and all the stakeholders should sit together to develop consensus on the national polls, he said, adding the fight between the two sides was leading the county towards martial law.

Sirajul Haq said the people must be given a chance to elect their representatives in a free and fair manner.

He condemned the Punjab caretaker government on creating hurdles in the way of the PTI rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, saying the caretaker set up was virtually posing as the part of the PDM government. Every political party, he said, had the right to hold peaceful rallies. To a question, he said, if the former prime minister Imran Khan or any other political leader were not feeling safe in their homes, they could live at Mansoorah which was a peaceful place. 

The JI chief said the fight between the PDM and the PTI took the country to the closed alley. He said the current government performance of 11 months was almost zero.  The poor were burning in the fire of inflation, he said, reminding the PDM and the PTI about their rallies against inflation before coming to power in April. Haq said the unity government badly failed to provide relief to the masses. Five poor persons died in the queues of flour, he said, asking the government to bring down the prices of food items at least during the holy month of Ramzan. He said the IMF dictates the government on every matter of national importance and global lender had virtually taken control of the national economy.

Sirajul Haq demanded the immediate release of the Gwadar Right Movement leader Maulana Hidayatur Rahman Baloch, asking the government to address the demands of the people of the port city. He asked the ECP to complete the local government polls in Karachi, warning the Sindh government and the PPP against the hurdles in the poll process. He said the JI had started the election campaign from March 23.