LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq has said former army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa was benefactor of all sides – the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the

PPP and the PTI – and backed these parties to bring them into power.

Talking to journalists after addressing a “Seerat Conference” at Wahdat Road Science College on Tuesday, he said the former army chief first nurtured the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and later extended support to the PDM government.

He said the ruling parties had always been relying on the establishment’s support to come into power. “Those who got the [establishment’s] support were glad to have it, and those denied started crying,” he added.

He said the JI sought an end to the establishment’s role in the country’s politics.

The elections, he said, should be held after electoral reforms. He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should be powerful both financially and administratively, and free of influence of the judiciary, civil and military bureaucracy, police and powerful individuals.

He said the elections without reforms would open a new Pandora’s box as nobody would accept the results. He said the JI wanted the elections should be held on the principle of proportional representation.

Mr Haq called for a strict and impartial accountability system in the country and demanded that first of all those who considered themselves among the top ten leaders of the country should be held accountable of their deeds.

He said as the PDM, the PPP and the PTI troika were equally responsible for the country’s problems, so accountability of their leaders was need of the hour.

To another question, he said the masses were witness to the “joke” being played in the name of the no-trust movement in Punjab. He said the drama had been continuing for months with mutual understanding of the ruling parties, who had “nothing to do with the welfare of the people.”

He said the people of Pakistan had to decide now whether they agreed to live with the same corrupt system or wanted a “real change”. He urged the masses to send the tried and tested parties packing and vote for the JI for a “corruption free and Islamic Pakistan”.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022