ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq on Sunday said that a ‘truth commission’ should be established to determine who was behind the violence in Karachi, because none of the investigations into major cases of violence had yet been completed.

Speaking at the Ulema Convention in Islamabad, Mr Haq said that irrespective of whether it was the federal government or the Sindh government which had failed to perform, those responsible “had no right to continue”.

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“The Karachi corps commander has already said that the ongoing operation in the city could not achieve positive results because of mismanagement in different departments of the Sindh government,” he said.

“Political appointments have affected the police force and one political party has appointed thousands of its workers in the department in Karachi,” he said.

He said that Karachi never received any attention from politicians. “Human beings have walked on the moon, but residents of Karachi still have to spend their days in search for water,” he said.

Talking about the education sector, he said that a uniform education system should be introduced across the country, arguing that different education systems would divide the nation. “A uniform education system is more important than the atom bomb,” he said.

“Madressahs and seminary teachers should also get a share from the education budget. It is illogical that people have come from abroad to prepare the syllabus of Sindh and Punjab. Pakistanis can do a much better,” he said, in a veiled reference to Dr Bernadette Dean’s involvement in the preparation of a combined syllabus for the two provinces. Dr Dean was recently forced to leave the country in the wake of a malicious campaign against her for allegedly trying to make textbooks secular.

Talking about the judicial commission, Mr Haq said that if the decision of commission went against the government, the PML-N would have to go home. In case it isn’t, critics will have to tolerate the government for its designated term.

He said that government departments were “destroyed and then sold off”. “Instead of doing this, the government should make those departments profitable and then privatise them,” he said.

“Both federal and provincial governments have come out of their honeymoon period of two years now and will have to work to resolve the people’s issues. Loadshedding should be ended and the bulk of finances, after defence, should be spent on education,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2015

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