LAHORE, Nov 8: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan said on Thursday that had the armed forces and other constitutional institutions of the country remained within their limits and served the nation well, the country would have averted the current situation.

In a press statement, he said undoubtedly the institutions were under the control of ‘mafias’ and the stories of their corruption were the routine talk of the town.

“The country is suffering from lawlessness and unrest, causing disappointment among the citizens about their future,” he said, adding that the feudal lords and capitalists had usurped the rights of the masses.

There were separate laws for the haves and the have-nots. People committing minor crimes were behind the bars while those involved in major crimes moved about freely, he deplored.

The JI amir said as the judicial institutions were never allowed to function freely in dictatorial rulers, the so-called democratic governments too followed the path, trying hard to curb the judiciary.