Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawar Hasan said on Sunday that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif was sincere about his anti-Zardari campaign, he should have consulted other opposition parties and sought their cooperation.
Speaking at a press conference in Sahiwal, he said that corruption and other social evils could not be eliminated as long as President Asif Ali Zardari enjoyed the support of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the PML-Quaid. The JI chief said that skyrocketing prices, blackouts, unemployment and lawlessness had made the people’s lives miserable.
He said the so-called democratic government was least bothered and the masses felt totally helpless. He said the rulers who were claiming to uphold democracy were reluctant to implement unanimous resolutions of the parliament and the Supreme Court’s decisions. On a question about giving the Most Favourite Nation status to India, he said that India had never accepted Pakistan by heart and had even refused to play cricket and hockey in the country.
He said granting such a status to India was harmful for Pakistan. He said the military should carry out its professional duties and advised it to stay away from interference in politics. About Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s recent announcement that his country would support Pakistan in case of a conflict with the US, the JI chief said the statement was hypocritical. He said Karzai never reacted to numerous drone attacks by the US on Pakistani territory.
He asked the rulers to stop giving logistic support to the US and retrieve Pakistani bases from the US control. He said a military operation in North Waziristan would be disastrous. He said the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton visited Pakistan to dictate US demands. He said the US wanted control over the region by restricting China and seizing control of the natural resources of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
