War on terrorism: Jamaat-i-Islami demands change in policy

06 Sep, 2008

Ameer Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) (NWFP) Siraj-ul-Haq addressing a press conference here on Friday said that if Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led coalition government did not change the policy of so called war on terrorism then their government would not last for a period of more then nine-month.
He said that more then 7,000 Pakistani citizens and three thousand soldiers had been killed in the on-going operation in the tribal areas. He said that situation in the tribal areas was similar to that of 1971 of East Pakistan where government and establishment through media had been pressing for rhetoric that they were fighting the war in the interest of the country.
Haq demanded that government should formulate a policy-seeking consensus having a debate in the parliament. The JI leader demanded that deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should be restored.
He said that 400,000 people had migrated from tribal affected areas due to the on-going war. He criticised statement of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari that it was their war. He said that the fact is that we were fighting war of American interests. He alleged that America wanted to destroy our nuclear capability.
He refused to accept the government's claim that foreigners were present in the tribal areas. He said that things would not change if Zardari would become the President of Pakistan. He said that the solution of our problems lied in establishing Islamic system.

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