LAHORE - Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq has termed remarks of the chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court regarding interest ‘against the Constitution’.

In a statement issued from JI head office Mansoora on Friday, the JI senator said that the Constitution gave categorical direction for winding up the interest based economic system. “The Holy Quran and the Sunnah strictly prohibits usury and Allah Almighty had termed interest as a war against Him,” Siraj said. Therefore, he added, the confusion being created in his regard by the Shariat Court Chief Justice is incomprehensible.

The JI chief further said that nation would not tolerate any steps in violation of the Quran and the Sunnah nor would it allow any effort to make the unanimous constitution be made controversial.

He also expressed that nation was keenly awaiting the Panama leaks case judgment, and remarked that the Panama issue should not be made the Kashmir issue. “The judgment, in this historic case, will close the door of corruption in the country.”

Meanwhile, a representative meeting of the religious parties in the country held at Mansoora called upon the government to announce abolition of interest system thus ending their war against Allah Almighty, instead of fighting a case for interest in the courts.

The meeting deplored that the Federal Shariat Court was continuously delaying the case of abolition of interest. It said that the government circles were delaying the winding up of interest based economy and a switch over to the Islamic banking as required under the constitution. JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, while briefing media after the meeting, called upon the Shariat Court Chief Justice to withdraw his remarks. He said that the FSC Chief Justice had proved to be a party and he should not sit at the bench hearing the matter.

Those attending the meeting included Mufti Khan Muhammad Qadri, Dr Aatif Waheed, Dr Muhammad Ameen, Mufti Syed Mehmood Farooqi, Mufti Khalilur Rahman Qadri, Maulana Muhammad Baqir, Abdul Haq Awan, Mujibur Rahman Inqilabi, Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, Asadullah Bhutto and others.

The meeting called upon the Supreme Court Chief Justice Saqib Nisar to immediately present the case of the FSC chief justice before the Supreme Judicial Council for his remarks regarding interest. The Supreme Judicial Council should also consider ways and means for making the Federal Shariat Court an effective organisation, it added.