LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq says billions of rupees set aside in the budget for law and order are allegedly being spent on the security of a handful of VIPs while lives and property of the common man are not protected.

Speaking at a party meeting here on Sunday, he lamented that huge budget earmarked for law and order was being used for providing security to a few VIPs as thousands of law enforcers were deployed around their residences and along routes. Citizens on the other hand were left at the mercy of criminals as crime rate was witnessing a sharp increase.

“A layman is shot dead in broad daylight and nobody is ready to remove his body,” he added.

The JI chief said petroleum product prices in the world had come down to one-third, but Pakistani masses were being denied the benefit. He demanded the price of petrol and diesel be reduced by Rs15 per litre.

Haq said before corruption eats up the entire social structure, it was essential to carry out ruthless accountability of the corrupt mafia. He said civil and military rulers in the past had made rosy promises to the masses but living conditions of the general public had not improved.

He said the only way out of the situation was to recover trillions of public money lying in foreign banks and utilise the amount on public welfare.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2016