Government’s announcement for resuming dialogue is a welcome decision: Siraj ul Haq

Lahore : Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Sirajul Haq, has welcomed the government’s announcement for resuming dialogue with the PTI unconditionally and within the ambit of law.He has urged the both sides to immediately announce their negotiation team, time and place so that the talks could begin without delay.

The JI chief termed the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s press conference as a good augury, and said that the responsibility for maintaining law and order primarily rested with the government. He said dialogue was the best option for the government to get out of the present crisis.

Sirajul Haq also appreciated PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s gesture for willingness to talks and expressed the hope that the talks between the two sides would begin soon.

Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Sirajul Haq, has said that the mishandling of the Faisalabad situation reflected the incompetence of the government.He said, had the PTI held a public meeting and the city was shutdown, the loss would not have been bigger than as had been done with the death of an individual. He said that politics was not the name of emotions and efforts should be made to extinguish the fire caused by the death in Faisalabad, instead of spreading its flames all around. He was talking to various delegations at Al-Markaz, Peshawar.

The JI chief welcomed the PTI’s decision to resume talks with the government. He said the JI had always been advocating for dialogue to settle all issues. He said that talks should also be initiated with the estranged Baloch leaders and a national policy should be evolved on Balochistan through consultation.

Sirajul Haq, who had been Finance Minister in the Khyber P., told the delegations that the present provincial government had introduced record number of educational reforms and there was a significant increase in the number of schools going boys and girls. He said, in the past, almost sixty per cent of the girls did not go to schools and colleges but now, fifty per cent girls were going to schools and colleges.The JI chief expressed deep concern over the plight of the IDPs who were facing serious problems.   He said the IDPs’ was a big issue and no single party could resolve it and a lasting solution should be worked out for that.

The JI chief visited the residence of ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and expressed condolences on the demise of his nephew and son of Bashir Ahmed Bilour, Usman Bilour. He also visited the residence of senior journalist and Chief Editor of the Wahdat daily Safaid Shah Hamdard, and offered  condolences on the death of his wife.

A Jirga headed by Secretary General, Jamaat e Islami Liaqat Baloch, on struck reconciliation between two parties from Sahyanwala in Faisalabad in a murder case pending for the last four years. One of the parties admitted their fault while the other granted pardon to the offenders. Notables of the area were also present. The Jirga comprised of Sardar Zafar Husain Khan, Syed Ehsanullah Waqas, Brig. (Rtd) Sohail Alvi and Muhammad Abbas Khan.

The residents of the area expressed their gratitude to the Jirga for their efforts resulting in a peaceful end to a conflict that had been continuing for long time. They expressed the hope that the reconciliation would bring peace and economic betterment in the area. Talking to a delegation of farmers at the spot, Liaqat Baloch said that the oppressed and downtrodden people in the country would have to stand united for building an Islamic Pakistan that would be free from tyranny, hunger and poverty. He said that the oppression of the ruling elite had crossed all limits.

The JI Secretary General expressed deep concern over the clash between the workers of the PTI and the ruling party in Faisalabad and termed it a threat to democracy and peace. He said that the problems could be resolved through dialogue.