LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan has reiterated his invitation to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement leadership for forging a grand alliance of political parties to intensify pressure on the PPP-led government to hold timely and fair elections and rid the country of bad governance.
He was addressing a joint press conference at Mansoora along with a delegation of the MQM, led by Dr Farooq Sattar, which called on the JI leadership on Tuesday in connection with the party leaders’ drive to meet various political parties to evolve a consensus agenda regarding holding timely election, movement of US warships in Pakistani coastal areas, worsening loadshedding, economic situation and law and order situation in Karachi. The delegation also included Raza Haroon, Wa’se Jalil and Iftikhar Randhawa. JI Naib Ameer Dr Muhammad Kamal, JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch and other leaders were also present.
Munawar stressed that a grand alliance was essential to pressurise the government for setting up an interim government and holding timely elections in a free, fair and impartial manner on the basis of transparent electoral rolls under an independent Election Commission. He said he had already invited Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif to join the grand alliance.
The JI Ameer said that a complete national harmony was the foremost need of the time and political workers should continue meeting one another as it helped remove misunderstandings. He welcomed the MQM delegation at Mansoora and said it was for the first time that the parties in the ruling alliance find themselves helpless despite being in power.
Munawar said that implementation of the Supreme Court orders was the responsibility of the government as well as the masses. He said there was no need for All Parties Conference or a roundtable moot in connection with the letter to be written to the Swiss authorities for reopening of cases against
President Zardari. The idea was put forth by Dr Farooq Sattar during the meeting with the JI leadership while the Federal Cabinet had already decided against writing to the Swiss authorities, he said.
The JI leader said that the situation in Balochistan was worsening day by day while Karachi was in the grip of target killers. Referring to Dr Farooq Sattar’s concern in connection with the arrival of the US naval ships in Pakistani coastal area, he said the JI had launched the Go America Go campaign a couple years back and it would welcome any party that joined the drive.
Talking to the media, Dr Farooq Sattar said the MQM had embarked on a drive to meet the political parties. They had already met President Zardari and meetings were also due with the PML-Q and ANP leaders, he said.
Dr Farooq Sattar said that during the meeting with JI leaders at Mansoora, the two sides had discussed the Karachi situation, movement of US ships in coastal areas, loadshedding, economic situation and the coming election. He said that in the present situation, no single political party could solve the problems facing the country and the nation. He said that even in the coming election, a split mandate was expected and the political parties inside as well as outside the parliament would have to jointly plan the solution to the nation’s problems and evolve a consensus on one-point agenda on matter of national security.
