Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq, on Monday, announced that his party will launch an “accountability march against corruption” from Lahore to Islamabad between September 12 and 16.
“Institutions in the country have been crippled because of corruption,” Haq said during a press conference at Islamabad Press Club. “I see Nawaz Sharif leaving the country soon, but that will not protect him from accountability.”
“Everyone should be held accountable […] we stand with the courts,” he said.
Haq reminded the media that the JI began its movement against corruption on March 1, 2016, when the country’s structure and its institutions were being destroyed.
“A [wider] rebellion against corruption began as a result of our movement,” he claimed.
Calling for across-the-board accountability, Haq said that the JI demands that other Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers should also be held accountable and that Articles 62 and 63 should also apply to judges and generals.
At least 259 Pakistanis were named in Panama Papers leaks last year, while offshore companies of another 150 Pakistanis had been revealed in ‘Bahamas Leaks’ last year.
Haq also demanded that Volume X of the Panamagate joint investigation team’s (JIT) report, the Dawn Leaks inquiry report and Justice Baqir Najfi’s report on the Model Town tragedy should also be made public.
Referring to Sharif’s recent comments on the Supreme Court’s Panama case verdict and his refusal to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), he said: “Nawaz Sharif is running a campaign against the courts” and has refused to present himself for accountability, which is a new challenge for the court.
