JI to quit 2 AJK LA seats granted by PML-N : Dr Asif Kirmani

Lahore : Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Dr Asif Kirmani Wednesday asked the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to quit two seats of AJK Legislative Assembly, granted to them by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in July 2016 elections.
“You (the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership) have begged us for the two seats. Since you’ve recently joined the band wagon of liars, so you’ve lost the moral grounds to keep these with you,” he said while addressing `Nawaz Sharif Zindabad Workers Convention’ here at Community Centre Aabpara.

The convention was attended by a large number of PML-N workers and leaders from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and adjoining areas.
Kirmani said Jamaat-e-Islami founder Abul Ala Maududi was a great religious figure, who throughout his life propagated high values but the current JI leadership was not following his footsteps.
“Maududi was a great theologian. I ask you to follow the standards set up by him and quit the seats so that our own workers are elected there. If you are not willing to do that then at least stop hurling baseless allegations against us,” he added while referring to JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq’s case against the Prime Minister in the Supreme Court.

Kirmani said like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the JI’s lawyer had also failed to produce any proof against the Prime Minister in the court.
Abdul Rashid Turabi and Riffat Aziz of JI were elected on the reserved seats in Azad and Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly (AJK LA).

The Special Assistant also came hard on the PTI leadership, asking them to shun levelling baseless allegations and propaganda against the Prime Minister and better focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) where it was in government and serve its people.

“The KP people voted you in power in the 2013 general election,but you’ve done nothing for them. They gave you mandate but you did not respect that and failed to deliver. You’ve still around one and a half years to serve them,” he said.