Sirajul Haq reiterates call for early elections, asking PM to ensure polls as soon as possible instead of focusing on executions of projects

LAHORE, April 15 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Sirajul Haq has reiterated the call for early elections, asking the prime minister to ensure the polls as soon as possible instead of focusing on executions of projects.

It was responsibility of the new government to introduce electoral reforms with the consensus of all political parties before the general elections, Sirajul Haq added while addressing a press conference at Mansoorah on Friday. Sirajul Haq welcomed the DG ISPR statement about the impossibility of martial law, saying it ended many doubts and confusions. The institutions including judiciary, military and election commission must keep their neutrality intact in the benefit of the country. If establishment interfered into politics, it must expect criticism from political workers, he said.

The JI chief demanded the government review agreements with the IMF, bring down prices of food items and petrol and decrease the electricity and gas tariff. The old status of the State Bank of Pakistan must be restored, he said.

Sirajul Haq called for implementation of the JI-PPP agreement on Karachi reforms and Sindh local government. He said the new government should address the concerns of the people of Gwadar and other areas of Balochistan. The government, he said, should recognize Afghan government and take a bold stance on Kashmir issue.

To a question, Sirajul Haq replied the Supreme Court of Pakistan should form a judicial commission to probe into letter-gate. He said the JI believed the US interference into Pakistan’s internal affairs was an open secret yet it did not see any reason that Washington wanted to end the PTI regime. The US establishment, he said, was rather comfortable with Imran Khan government which implemented all the demands of the international lending agencies working with the backing of America, facilitated NATO forces and did not recognize the Afghanistan government on US pressure.

He said the JI believed the three ruling parties (the PML-N, the PPP and the PTI) could never make a stand against US dictations. The people, he said, had tested the three parties for years. The nation, he added, received back no benefit from the waderas, feudal and imperialists after bringing them into power time and again. He said the JI was not in a mood to develop political alliance with the tested parties. “We will go into elections under our own flag, manifesto and elections symbol.”