JI demands shut up call for Khawaja Asif

Lahore: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Syed Munawar Hasan,  has taken strong exception to Defense Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif’s statement  that if talks did not succeed, operation was inevitable, and said this was in conflict with the national policy. He has called upon the Prime Minister to stop the Ministers and Advisors from issuing statement on the issue.

In a statement here on Saturday, he said that the Federal Interior Minister was the Focal Person for the talks, he alone should be authorized to speak on the sensitive issue, and there was no sense in allowing others to speak on the issue. He said the Defense Minister’s interview to the British news net work was not in line with the national policy, and added that statement from the government official, especially ministers to the national and the foreign media expressing their mind could harm the talks process.

Syed Munawar Hasan welcomed the security forces statement to keep out of the talks’ process and extend support to the government policy. He however urged the security institutions to dig out the foreign hand behind the terrorist activities after the Taliban’s announcement of cease fire and also to play an effective role for the talks’ success. He said that linking the Taliban with such incidents after their ceasefire announcement, especially when they were disowning the incidents. was unfortunate.

He urged the Prime Minister to take notice of the mater and convene a Cabinet meeting to apprise the ministers of the sensitivity of the issue so that the  enemy designs in this respect could be foiled.

The Ji Ameer expressed deep grief and shock over the death of hundreds of children in Thar because of the indifference of the federal and the Sindh governments and the acute shortage of food and drinking water and in the area. He said this was a fit case for registering murder cases against the rulers who had celebrated the Sindh Festival only last month and squandered billions on fun and merriment in an attempt to revive Sindh’s ancient culture while thousands to people in the province were starving.

The JI chief noted that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former President Zardari had, while jointly inaugurating the Thar Coal project, made tall claims of Sindh’s development when thousands of people in the area remained without food and drinking water.

He appreciated the suo moto notice taken by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the death of over one hundred children and expressed the hope that the apex court would bring the rulers to the dock to meet the call of justice.  He said the residents of Thar were compelled to live at below animal level only because the selfish and corrupt politicians had deprived them of basic needs including food, education and health, The majority in the interior Sindh was at the mercy of Vaderas and feudal lords and was awaiting some messiah to improve their lot.

Under the circumstances, he said, besides the federal and the provincial governments, the welfare bodies and patriotic NGOs should visit the area and extend every possible help and assistance to the people and save their lives. He also directed the JI workers and the Al-Khidmat Foundation to spare no efforts for providing help and assistance to the needy in the area.