KARACHI, Aug 4: Secretary-General of the Jamaat-i-Islami Syed Munawwar Hassan has said that the government should stop harassing the family of Dr Aafia Siddiqui now when the US investigation agency, FBI, has conceded that she was in its custody and detained in Afghanistan. Instead, he added, the government must strive for her release.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist, was said to have been picked up along with her three children in March 2003 under mysterious circumstances from her parents’ house in Karachi. Later, it transpired that she was interrogated about her alleged link with the Al-Qaeda.

Addressing a press conference at the JI office here on Monday, the JI leader demanded protection to her family members who, he said, were being subjected to intimidation by Pakistan intelligence agencies.

Mr Hasan also criticised the government for “turning the country into a war field by becoming an ally in the so called US war on terror”. This, he said, had put the country’s integrity and sovereignty at stake.

He regretted that the Pakistani delegation led by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in the recent visit to Washington did not even condemn the US strikes on Pakistani soil.

Syed Munawwar Hassan also castigated the Muttahida Qaumi Movement for “unleashing propaganda of Talibanisation threatening Karachi,” and in this regard cited Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza’s statement which rejected reports about the very existence of Taliban in Karachi. “The MQM propaganda is a plot to pit citizens of Karachi against each other”, he remarked.

He said the masses had voted overwhelmingly for the ruling coalition partners in the Feb 18 general elections hoping that the civilian leadership would impeach President Pervez Musharraf, restore the pre-Nov 3, 2007 judiciary and restore the judges deposed after the proclamation of the Nov 3 emergency. Besides, he said, the common man expected introduction of a popular policy that could provide a considerable relief from inflation and soaring prices, curb the growing unemployment and bring about prosperity. However, the government not only failed to come up to their expectations but also rendered the already crippled parliament a powerless and unimportant institution, he added.

The JI leader claimed that the parliament was no more sovereign as all decisions supposed to be taken by the parliament were being taken outside it.

“Even Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani is ignoring the parliament,” he noted, saying that the prime minister was not taking the parliament into confidence on the most important issues.

Syed Munawwar Hassan termed the prime minister’s US visit “a total failure”.

He was of the view that the country was in a deep crisis, and urged PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif to take a decision on whether he should go with Asif Zardari or the masses. “He (Mr Sharif) has to decide whether to retain the Punjab government or go for General Pervez Musharraf’s impeachment,” he said. He said Asif Zardari’s compulsions to do the politics of NRO were understandable but Nawaz Sharif’s compulsions were not understandable.