JI to stage Awami march on 19th: Siraj

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq has said the JI would stage another Awami march in Rawalpindi on July 19, at which he would give his line of action for pulling the country out of the economic crisis.

He said that if the government didn’t mend its ways time would go out of its hands. Addressing the reporters after chairing the concluding session of the five-day JI workshop for party workers at Mansoora here Sunday, Sirajul Haq said at present, the masses were only staging protest but if the rulers did not see reason the furious crowds could march towards their palaces and besiege them.

Referring to the issue of NAB court judge Arshad Malik, he said this was the issue of the entire judiciary and not a single judge and must be resolved at the earliest. He said that the JI would stage another Awami march in Rawalpindi on July 19, at which he would give his line of action for pulling the country out of the economic crisis.

The JI Ameer said the rulers’ arrogance was pushing the people towards protest and their voice could not be suppressed. He said that playing cricket and governing the country were two different things and the government had crumbled within one year. He said the Prime Minister was not aware of the gravity of the situation. He said that the JI was the only party that was playing the role of real opposition.

The JI chief said that instead of listening to the cries of the oppressed masses, the rulers were laughing at them. The princes residing in Islamabad were not aware that the people were unable to make both ends meet. The government had promised to create 10 million jobs but till now it had snatched the jobs of five lakh people. Similarly, the government had promised to build five million houses but thousands of people had been deprived of their homes.

The JI chief flayed the government for increasing the prices of sugar, cement and medicines. He said those who had voted and supported the PTI were worried now as the government policies were a 120 percent failure.

Sirajul Haq said the government had become nervous over the complete shutdown by the traders and was saying that political parties were behind the strike. He said that this impression was wrong as it was shutdown by the traders and not the political parties.

Taxes: The central Shoora of the Jamaat-e-Islami has called upon the government to withdraw the 17 percent federal excise duty, sales tax and income tax levied in the Malakand Division and former PATA and FATA areas now merged into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A resolution adopted by the Shoora said that after the creation of Pakistan, especially in 1975, these areas had been exempted from such taxes through notification due to their backwardness, poverty and unemployment.

The Shoora said that on one hand, the government had announced a special package for these areas while on the other hand, it had levied such heavy taxes although most of these areas had been ravaged due to terrorism and floods.