Political impasse: JI striving for peaceful solution: Siraj

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq has said the Political Jirga had been striving hard for a peaceful solution of the current political impasse for last 40 days in order to prevent the demise of "whatever democracy we have". Addressing a mass wedding party arranged by the Al-Khidmat Foundation in Peshawar, he said almost 80 per cent of the issues had been settled and the Jirga had given its recommendations in regard to the remaining issues.
He was hopeful that the remaining irritants would also be solved amicably. He appealed to the government and the protesting parties, the PTI and the PAT, leadership to step forward for a final settlement in order to avoid some unpleasant development. He said the country had already suffered heavily due to imposition of martial laws in the country.
As many as 25 couples were wedded on the occasion and the Al-Khidmat Foundation also arranged some dowry for them. The JI chief slated the burning of some record of the 2013 elections at a Lahore school and demanded an enquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the incident. He said such an incident at this time had raised several questions because of the reservations of different political parties about the elections.
The JI chief said that even after 67 years of independence, "we have failed to give the masses the Pakistan envisioned by Allama Muhammad Iqbal and the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The nation had offered huge sacrifices for a Muslim homeland but Pakistan had now become the paradise for the corrupt elite, capitalists, feudal lords and the Waderas. A strong exploitation system prevailed in the country and the rulers had betrayed the martyrs of the Pakistan Movement and the Pakistan ideology. For the last 67 years, the rulers had been bowing before Washington instead of Allah Almighty and were working for the US interests and priorities." "At this moment, we face threats not from the enemy or its atom bombs but from the corrupt elite and the corrupt system. He said if the Jamaat-e-Islami came to power, it would recover the ill-gotten wealth from the corrupt political elite and others. Sirajul Haq reiterated that the JI would hold a grand Ijtema in Lahore from November 21 to 23 to renew the Pakistan Movement and to carry forward the country to its real goal, establishment of a true Islamic welfare and progressive state.