Govts only verbally term Kashmir the jugular vein: Siraj

BAHAWALPUR: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq has said that the past governments, as well as the present government, only verbally terms Kashmir as its jugular vein.

Addressing the ‘Yakjehati Kashmir Conference’ here on Sunday, he said that the JI would observe February 5 with great enthusiasm to express solidarity with the innocent Kashmiris who are facing Indian atrocities since many decades and the entire world is keeping silence over the Indian cruelty. “On Kashmir Day, the JI will take out protest rallies from Karachi to Khyber and Kashmir.”

Siraj expressed grave concerns over the country’s prevalent political and economic situation. “The PTI government has failed to deliver for masses during the last six months. The country has been overburdened by Rs2240 billion debt due to government’s foreign borrowing policy like the previous governments of PPP and PML-N,” he added.

The government has also failed in making legislation through the parliament and its leadership is responsible for that, he said. The JI Ameer alleged that Punjab government has failed to fix the responsibility of Sahiwal massacre. He also demanded arrest of the killers of SSP Rai Tahir and Maulana Samiul Haq. He said that the masses were once again disappointed after the last general elections as the present rulers had failed to give relief to the masses.

Siraj expressed disappointment on the performance of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar as he failed to resolve the basic issues of the poverty-hit areas of Cholistan desert and other south Punjab area.

Referring to the historical demand of restoration of Bahawalpur provincial status, he said the JI always supported the genuine demand of Bahawalpur masses because the creation of south Punjab province was never the issue of Bahawalpur division masses except restoration of its province status.

APP adds from MULTAN: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq said that the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) government should complete its constitutional tenure and honour its pledges made with the people. “PTI should deliver and fulfill its promise to develop country on the pattern of the state of Madina. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he said that the government should curtail its non-development expenditures and abolish the culture of the protocol.

He said the JI would continue to remind the government about its pledges. He posed a question whether the incumbent government took any step towards the provision of 10 million jobs to the unemployed persons or construct five million houses for the homeless people.

He said there should be across-the-board accountability. He also expressed concern over the use of ice drugs in the educational institutes and demanded the government to take strict action in this regard.

Terming Sahiwal incident tragic, he called for a transparent inquiry into the incident. The JI Ameer said that south Punjab should completely be made a separate province rather creating a secretariat.

It should have its assembly, governor and the chief minister for addressing the backwardness of the region.