JI opposes another APC for talks with Taliban

Lahore: While opposing another APC on the issue of talks with the Taliban, Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Syed Munawar Hasan, has impressed upon the government to start the implementation of the decision of the previous all parties moot on this score.

In an interview with a TV channel on Thursday, he said another APC on the US wishes would be a farce, sheer wastage of time and a conspiracy to harm the country’s solidarity.

Syed Munawar Hasan said that the Taliban and their supporters struggling for peace in the country and fighting against US terrorism were one entity as the end of US brutalities and the protection of Pakistan’s independence and sovereignty were their common goals.

He said the Taliban might have committed various blunders but it would be unjust to ignore their sacrifices against the US and to hold them accountable for their lapses. If the government can have dialogue with the Baloch Nationalists and Sindhi Nationalists, why not with the Taliban, he asked.

The JI Ameer said the Taliban attending the talks could be given a scolding but fleeing from talks under US pressure would be cowardice, an enmity with the country and selling out the national interests to advance the U agenda.

He said that a complete national unity was imperative to free the country from US terrorism, however, it appeared that the government was considering convening another APC simply to runaway from the unanimous declaration of the previous all parties moot. He warned that such an attempt would be a plot to harm the collective will of the nation and to serve the US interests.

The US, he said, was the biggest enemy of Islam and the Muslims and had invented terrorism only to harm the Muslims. He said the US terrorism could not be checked by yielding to US pressure. Instead, the government would have to pick up courage and take bold decisions to safeguard national interests.

Syed Munawar Hasan said the JI had never talked of taking up arms against the government or the state. However, if the government itself became an enemy tool and started killing its citizens, it would be difficult to convince others through arguments or to stop them from taking up arms against the enemy.

The JI Ameer also addressed the concluding session of the three day workshop for the heads of educational institutions run by the Al-Ghazali Education Trust, and listed the weaknesses of the country’s education system. He also appreciated the services of the Al-Ghazali Education Trust in the spread of literacy in the rural and backward areas.