Opposing peace talks is against national interest :Siraj ul Haq

Lahore: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Siraj ul Haq, on Wednesday announced a new public agenda of the party with the objective to free the nation from the clutches of the exploitative forces and appealed to the masses to join the JI to achieve the goal. 

He was addressing a press conference at Mansoora, at which he also announced the new central office bearers of the Jamaat. He said that the Jamaat e Islami was the only Islamic and democratic party in the country in real sense, and a model, and it was striving to establish the supremacy of the Quran and the Sunnah and the service of the masses. He said a handful of the elite had taken the masses as hostages and were in full control of the country’s resources. This class had been exploiting the masses during the last sixty five years, and the JI needed public cooperation to get rid of them.  The JI would protect the interests of the workers, the women folk, the minorities and all the poor, he added.

In the new JI set up, Liaqat Baloch has been reappointed the Secretary General. The Naib Ameer of the party include Prof. Khurshid Ahmed, Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, Asadullah Bhutto, Rashid Naseem, and Mian Muhammad Aslam.

Referring to the talks with the Taliban, Sirajul Haq said that the entire nation and all the parties had given the government mandate for talks, and if any party was opposing dialogue at this stage, it was going against the national agenda.

The JI chief said that the nation wanted a quick decision in regard to Pervez Musharraf as there were apprehensions that a new NRO was being signed to save  the former military dictator.

Sirajul Haq said the JI had serious reservations on the PPO, which  had been passed by the assembly as this would deny the rights of the citizens. He said, instead of enacting new laws, the government should implement the constitution in real spirit.

He called for complete withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan, and said it appeared that the US wanted to retain some of its troops in Afghanistan. He said that real peace could not return to the area if even a single US troop remained here. He said that the US was influencing the dialogue with the Taliban.

To a question, he said if there were any differences between the government and the armed forces about talks, these should end. He said that the negotiating committees should be given all powers in order to make the talks fruitful.

He again condemned the attack on Hamid Mir, and demanded that the enquiry commission should submit its report within three weeks so that all apprehensions on this score were removed.

Referring to the Kashmir issue, Sirajul Haq said that the entire Pakistani nation stood behind the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle. He was sure that Kashmir would be free some day. He however urged the government not to adopt such a Kashmir policy as was in conflict with national stance on the issue.