LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Sirajul Haq feels the clouds of uncertainty over the general and Senate elections are getting darker with each passing day which is harmful for national unity and stability of the country.

Talking to various delegations at Mansoora on Monday, he said Pakistan’s alliance with the US had only benefitted the latter as Islamabad had suffered huge losses as “predicted by the JI at the very beginning”.

“Pakistan continued to suffer losses of men and material while Washington only levelled accusations. The country lost around 70,000 men besides financial losses of more than $130 billion. Over 95 per cent of them were killed in drone attacks. People supporting the US war are now confused and don’t know how to justify their policy.”

He called for immediately suspending Nato supplies besides disallowing air and land use of the country.

Meanwhile, JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch and leading tribal elders called upon Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to grant fundamental rights to the people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) without delay.

Addressing a rally against the Frontier Crimes Regulations at the press club, attended by hundreds of people from tribal areas, the speakers said if the bill for Fata reforms was not presented in the National Assembly it would the “biggest crime” of Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and incumbent Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Those who addressed the rally included JI Fata chief Haji Sardar, Zarnoor Afridi, Maulana Abdul Hameed Khan, Maulana Waheed Gul, JI Khyber chief Mushtaq Ahmed Khan and JI Deputy Secretary General Hafiz Sajid Anwar.

Liaquat Baloch appealed to Maulana Fazlur Rahman and Mehmood Khan Achakzai not to obstruct the basic rights of tribal people and respect their desire for merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2018