KARAK: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq has demanded appointment of renowned scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer as the interim prime minister to ‘ensure’ holding of free, fair and transparent general elections in the country.

Speaking at a public meeting in Takht-i-Nusrati here on Sunday, he claimed that his party was struggling for establishment of a true Islamic system.

The JI chief alleged that as the rulers were unaware about the teachings of Islam, they had become stooges of the US. He said that the JI lawmakers had not sold their votes in the recent Senate elections and that his party always discouraged the culture of horse-trading.

He claimed that only sincere leadership could put the country on the path of development, and added that JI could provide such a leadership.

Mr Haq claimed that politics was a holy practice but it had been made a business, saying that the people would get the fruits of democracy only when it was practiced under Islamic teachings.

While unveiling his party’s election manifesto, Mr Haq claimed that the JI would give special allowance to senior citizens and treatment of major diseases like cancer would be free. He said JI would also ensure provision of free ration to the poor segments of society.

He pointed out that due to exploration of uranium in Karak district incidence of cancer had been on the rise, therefore, the government should set up a cancer hospital in the district.

The JI chief also demanded provision of gas facility to the people of the district on priority basis.

JI provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, district president Maulana Tasleem Iqbal and PK-86 candidate Rehmatullah also spoke on the occasion.

PROTEST: The residents of Koh-i-Maidan, Kurd Sharif, Showanki and adjacent localities protested the other day the health department’s failure to provide treatment to the patients of leishmaniasis, a skin disease caused by sand fly.

The people gathered at Showanki and blocked the main road for a while to record their protest. They claimed that the disease had so far affected over 800 people and demanded of the health department to carry out fumigation and provide free medicines and mosquito nets to people. They said more than 250 patients, particularly women and children, had to be taken to hospitals in far off areas as there was no treatment facility available locally.

The people pointed out that due to ignorance of the people regarding the disease many cases had become chronic.

The elders demanded of the health department to send teams of doctors and medicines to the remote areas to provide treatment facilities to the affected people.

Meanwhile, sources said the health department had demanded Rs4 million from the provincial government to help it tackle the situation, but the amount was yet to be released.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2018