LAHORE - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq emphasised on Tuesday the need to forge consensus on simultaneous elections.
Talking to a private TV channel he said, “All political parties want to find a way out, but none of them is ready to back down from their opinion.”
Appealing to the Supreme Court (SC) to call a full court meeting, Mr Haq said, “The court will justify its stand by calling a full court meeting. It will be unfortunate if the full court bench will not be formed in connection with the matter of holding the elections. Siraj-ul-Haq said, “Right now, there is a political crisis in the country. Along with the political crisis, there is also an economic and constitutional crisis. There is no case of common people in the National Assembly, Senate and Supreme Court.”
Stressing the need for holding simultaneous elections, Mr Haq said, “The issue of elections is not only for one or two parties. But the 230 million people are concerned about the elections.”
Speaking about Gwadar, Mr Haq lamented, “Gwadar has been made a spectacle for the whole world. Gwadar is a sensitive city regarding CPEC. There is a dire need for complete peace in this area. In terms of solidarity with Gwadar fishermen, the JI is protesting across the country on May 1”.
“We do not want our country to become Libya. It has become difficult for the poor to breathe due to the severe economic hardships,” he maintained.
Mr Haq claimed, “The judges of the court are not on the same page. They are also having a tussle among themselves. We do not want conflict. In connection with getting on the same page about holding transparent polls, we are in constant contact with political parties”.
He added, “The talks have been held with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP). The prime minister wanted us to leave this closed street. Imran Khan also gave a positive response”.