JI struggling to change status quo: Siraj urges government to resume talks with PTI

The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) is not siding with any particular political party but is, instead, struggling to change the status quo in the country within the constitutional framework, JI chief Sirajul Haq said. Talking to Business Recorder here on Monday, Sirajul Haq said that Jamaat-i-Islami was to announce party agenda during the three-day Lahore conference, which will be attended by thousands of workers and activists.
"I urge the government to resume dialogue process with the protesting opposition political party PTI as early as possible to resolve the political crisis. At this juncture of our history we can not afford any confrontation as many geo-political developments across the region are taking place. The trouble makers would try to take advantage of internal confrontations and our weaknesses so the government should restart talks with the PTI," Haq maintained. "Yes JI and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have some points in common and we have agreed with the PTI leadership to jointly struggle against the prevailing status quo in Pakistan, but still dialogue with the government is the only way forward to end the prevailing political crisis," he added.
He said that he would present a people's agenda at the JI Ijtema at the Minar-e-Pakistan to mark the beginning of a movement for an Islamic Pakistan. Haq said that an Islamic Pakistan would be able to face the challenges from within and abroad. He said the JI Ijtema would pull the nation out of despair and create hope among the masses.
He also said that the government must finalise the arrangements for the return of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of the federally-administrated North Waziristan Agency as 85 percent of the area under the military operation has been cleared and IDPs were desperate to go back to their homes. "We have agreed to fight for a system where there is merit and justice. The existing system has failed to provide any sort of relief to the common masses of the country. JI's real mission is to make an Islamic Pakistan as per the agenda of the father of the nation Mohammad Ali Jinnah," he stated. "The JI has called for a transparent mechanism, where rigging is no longer possible and is free from any kind of national or international pressure. All those involved in election rigging should be brought to book," he said.