SC, ECP, establishment should stay neutral: Sirajul Haq
Pakistan
Siraj stresses need for taking country out of quagmire
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq said on Monday that the Supreme Court (SC), the establishment, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had to stay neutral.
Mr Haq made his remarks in Dunya News’ talk show, during which he said, "In politics, negotiations are important. Even if the elections do not happen at the will of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), still the problems will be solved."
Speaking about the one-point agenda regarding holding the simultaneous elections in the country, Mr Haq said, "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan have announced the Rabita Committee.
"Other parties will also remain stakeholders, with the exception of the PDM. Our efforts are to contact all the parties for the sake of one-point agenda regarding the elections," said Mr Haq.
Read also: Shah Mehmood Qureshi accuses PDM of not being serious about negotiations
Lamenting that the poor people of the country were facing problems, Mr Haq said there was a dire need to take the country out of a quagmire.
Mr Haq said, "Iran and Saudi Arabia joined hands in friendship. The US has withdrawn its troops from Afghanistan. Now nobody would come to convince us. Now it is our responsibility to solve the country’s problems. The world will observe us if we do not play our role in terms of coping with the challenges facing the country".
"The Supreme Court is having an opportunity to give a chance to the political leaders or form the full bench over the matters of the elections. The Chief Justice has the option," he maintained.
Stressing the need for solving the country’s problems at any cost, Mr Haq said no benefits will be reaped from conflict.
"The people of the country are waiting in line for the flour in the long queue. The poor people are facing severe economic hardships," he lamented.
The JI chief said, "I want to see smiles on the masses’ faces. It's time for the matters to mature following Eid. We are in contact with everybody."
Speaking about the cases lodged against the PTI, Mr Haq said, "Many cases have been lodged against the PTI, and its workers were subjected to baton-charge. The PTI has imposed no condition in connection with the cases against the party leaders."
Earlier on Sunday, the JI proposed Sunday to hold the All Parties Conference (APC) after Eidul Fitr.
Sources privy to the development said for the sake of a big development in the country’s political scenario, the APC will be spearheaded by the JI. The contacts had been started in a bid to invite PM Shehbaz and Mr Khan Imran Khan to the conference.
The JI believed that holding split-up polls was not in the interest of the country. So, therefore, the government and the opposition should agree on the date for simultaneous elections. In terms of holding "elections in one go", the JI will convince the government to hold the elections before October, and to the PTI after May. The JI leadership will negotiate with the PTI and the PML-N’s nominated members ahead of the APC.
The PML-N asked Khawaja Saad Rafique and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to move forward with the negotiations with the JI in a bid to settle the matter of elections.
JI Emir Sirajul Haq held separate meetings on Saturday with PM Shehbaz and Mr Khan and initially started to hold talks between the two for the sake of holding simultaneous elections.
