Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq held a press conference to explain his party’s role in the MMA and as an opposition party after 328 MNAs took oath in the lower house of parliament.
In the press conference, the JI chief said that his party isn’t a puppet that the opposition can control. “Our alliance with the opposition does not mean that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) or Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) can dictate our actions,” he said.
This statement shows slight cracks in the ‘joint opposition alliance.’ “We may be with the opposition, but we will not blindly follow any decision made by PML-N or PPP as they have our support but do not own us,” Siraj said.
Sirjaul Haq’s party was previously in alliance with Paksitan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) when the Imran Khan-led party formed the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but it later joined forces with religious parties to revive the MMA.
“We will follow our own policies,” added Siraj, while distancing himself from Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s remarks, which said that they will not celebrate Independence Day due to the massive rigging in the July 25 election. “We will celebrate 14th August. If Maulana Fazlur Rehman does not want to then that’s his own choice,” he said.
Siraj was among the first opposition leaders to come out and say that the new government should be given a chance to perform. He told Imran Khan that the PTI chief’s ‘real test’ has now begun. “We want Imran to fulfill all the promises he made to the nation,” he said.
Siraj also said that the two main opposition parties were responsible for their own plight. “The opposition would never to suffer like this if PML-N and PPP improved the electoral system,” he said.