F.P. Report
LOWER DIR: Jamaat-i-Islami leader Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has urged the election commission of Pakistan and the apex court to provide equal level playing fields to all political parties, ensure the general elections are held on Feb, 8 and avoid depriving a specific party of its election symbol.
He was addressing a party workers’ convention as chief guest at Talash here on Saturday.
The JI Youth wing Talash chapter organized the event which was attended by a large number of party workers and youths from the area. The convention was also addressed by the JI candidate for NA 7 Maulana Dr Muhammad Ismail, PK 16 candidate Shad Nawaz Khan, former tehsil nazim Riaz Muhammad, JI Youth wing district president Ateequr Rehman, JI tehsil emir Malik Sher Bahadar, Muhsin Khan and others. Realizing the importance of youths’ votes, the JI senator said that 130 million youths lived in the country and their role could not be ruled out. He asked the JI Youth wing to mobilize youths and women to vote this time for the JI.
He said the JI would provide education to every child, healthcare to every citizen and would distribute national resources equally among the people. He said that election was the right of 250 million Pakistanis and the ECP should ensure its timely conduction. He said that militency would never succeed and elections would be held right on Feb 8. “We will not allow anyone to postpone elections”, Mushtaq said. Senator Mushtaq condemned the arrest of the Pukhtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen and termed it illegal and unconstitutional.
The JI chief also condemned the ‘forced disappearance’ of Baluchis and said that the Baluch protesters had genuine demands. He said the JI had been struggling for the enforcement of Islamic system through ballet in the country that guaranteed equal facilities of education, healthcare and shelter to citizens and ensured justice to all irrespective of people’s social and economical status. He said the Islamic system would rid Pakistan from slavery of the IMF, World Bank and America.
He said the JI wanted across the board accountability of the judges, Generals and bureaucrats. He alleged that rulers had looted national wealth and shifted it abroad for their personal gains. He said the JI would take into accounts all the elements involved in plundering the national wealth. Talking about the justice system the JI senator said that 2.1 million cases were under-trial in courts.
He alleged the country was being ruled by ‘mafia’ that had roots even in the parliament and judiciary. “Some individuals and political parties want to postpone the general election in the garb of militancy but the JI will not let it so”, Mushtaq said, adding that delaying polls was tantamount to surrendering before the militants. Talking about the current situation in the country Mushtaq Ahmad said that prices of daily use items increased weekly while millions of youth were jobless despite getting higher degrees from universities.
The JI senator was of the view that free, fair and transparent elections were the only solution to all problems faced by the nation. He said that depriving a political party of its election symbol and arresting its candidates was not fair. About his party, Mr Ahmad said that the JI had the biggest ambulance service in the country and was facilitating 300, 00 orphans despite the fact that it was not in government.
