LAHORE – Six religious parties on Tuesday decided to form a broad-based electoral alliance for the establishment of Islamic system and enforcement of Shariah in the country.
In a meeting held at the residence of Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Liaqat Baloch, representatives of six religious parties felt that the alliance was imperative for launching a meaningful, democratic struggle to get rid of the present government headed by President Asif Ali Zardari; solve the problems such as price-hike and unemployment;organise the masses against the loot and plunder of the rulers; end military operation and exploitation in Fata and Balochistan; recover missing people; free the people of Karachi from extortion, abductions for ransom and target killings; and devise an honourable foreign policy for the country by throwing away the yoke of US slavery.
The meeting decided that the heads of the participating parties would meet in near future to work out the modalities of the alliance. The meeting was attended by JUI-Samiul Haq’s Maulana Abdur Rauf Farooqi, Syed Yousuf Shah and Makhdoom Aasim; JUI-Ideological’s Maulana Zubair Khan and Maulana Nauman Siddiqui; JUP-Sawad-e-Azam’s Pir Mahfuz Mashhadi and Muhammad Khan Leghari; Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat’s Dr Khadim Husain Dhillon and Shamsur Rahman Moawiya; and Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith’s Ibtesam Elahi Zaheer among others.
Meanwhile, talking to the media at the leather market, Liaqat Baloch said that elections had become inevitable and whoever tries to run away would invite political death. He said that the Constitution provided a five-year period for an elected government and no one had the authority to extend it.
He viewed that the religious parties should not do politics under President Zardari’s umbrella and should become independent. He said that he had no personal differences with Maulana Fazlur Rahman and that efforts were being made for the formation of a new alliance in Karachi against the MQM.
Baloch said that the Jamaat-e-Islami had collected 20 per cent more hides on Eid-ul-Azha this year than the previous year. He also expressed gratitude to the governments of Turkey and Egypt for commending humanitarian work of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Al-Khidmat Foundation.