HARIPUR: Jamaat-i-Islami naib emir Liaquat Baloch has said that the country is going through the worst political crisis as the politics of hate is leading the country to a closed alley.

He stated this while speaking to the participants of an Iftar-dinner that the local JI chapter hosted in his honour here on Tuesday.

Party’s Hazara emir Abdul Razaq Abbasi, district emir Tahir Atiq Siddiqi and Ghazan Iqbal Khan also spoke.

Mr Baloch insisted that the current parliament came into being on a fake mandate. “The establishment has belittled the role of the Constitution, the parliament, courts and democracy.”

“After every five years a political party is brought to the helm, which is no solution to the country’s problems,” he added.

Liaquat alleges current parliament result of fake public mandate

Mr Baloch said such tactics had badly failed as mere popularity sans political sagacity and depth was worthless. “On the basis of popularity and sycophancy a party could get closer to the establishment and grab power, but it is not possible now because the country’s economy is in turmoil.”

The political parties, he suggested, must understand that protests and agitation were not going to work anymore.

Mr Baloch said that the political leadership must strive to uphold the Constitution, democracy and ensure holding of free and fair elections, driving the country out of the prevailing crisis.

“For the sake of economy the national leadership must join hands,” he said, quoting the example of Bangladesh where the rival political parties joined hands and stood firm against the dictatorship of Gen Irshad.

He said Pakistan was facing the worst terrorism and lawlessness, and there was no writ of the government.

Talking about the PM’s call for a national dialogue to effectively deal with the monster of terrorism, the Jamaat leader demanded a review of the National Action Plan.

PHD PROGRAMME: The University of Haripur has emerged as the first public sector varsity of the province, which has introduced PhD programme in public policy and governance from the fall semester 2025, says Prof Abdul Majid, dean of the department of management sciences.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said initially there would be 10 admissions that the university would offer.

He said that the governance programme aimed to provide students with hands-on experience in understanding the public policy process, develop public policy capabilities through interaction with stakeholders, and conduct policy analysis and evaluation through empirical research.

He said currently the varsity had a strength of 10,000 students in all its programmes and departments.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025