Siraj urges PM to step down to protect dignity of his office

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down for protecting the dignity of his office and for allowing a free and transparent inquiry into the allegations levelled against him and his family in the Panama Leaks.

Addressing electioneering gatherings in Dheer Kot area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday, Sirajul Haq said that if the PM resigned after he was proven guilty, it would not add to his honour.

He said that the PM should quit and allow an independent inquiry by a Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice, facing all the allegations against him with an open heart. He said that no law in the world allows an accused to appoint a judge of his own choice as such a practice would lead to chaos.

Siraj said a British journalist had claimed in his recent book that a former ruler of the country had assets in Britain. “I ask how the person had earned that much money,” he said. He said that according to a former Director of the NAB, corruption to the tune of Rs12 billion was taking place in the country every day, and it was mainly due to this that major national institutions were facing financial crunch. He said the government departments in Azad Kashmir were also facing the problem of corruption. He said that the freedom struggle in Kashmir would be intensified if freedom loving and honest leadership came forward through elections.