Jamaat-e-Islami to mark December 12 as ‘Balochistan Solidarity Day’

Party reiterates demand of strict action against culprits of Sialkot lynching

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has decided to mark ‘Balochistan Solidarity Day’ on December 12 to highlight the problems of the people of the province.

While addressing a consultative meeting of the party’s central leadership at Mansoorah, Lahore, JI Ameer Sirajul Haq stated, “Balochistan is rich in natural resources but the people are deprived of basic needs. The present and the former governments have failed to address the demands of the masses.”

The participants of the meeting unanimously condemned the Sialkot incident as shameful and disgraceful, stating that the shocking lynching of a Sri Lankan citizen caused shame to the entire nation. The culprits involved in the violence, they demanded, should be given exemplary punishment.

Sirajul Haq, who reached Lahore on Tuesday night after a two-day visit of Gwadar and Turbat, said the JI fully supported the ‘Gwadar Haq Do Tehreek’ (Give rights to Gwadar). The local residents of Gwadar, he said, were protesting for their basic rights, which were not illegal and unlawful. The government, he stressed, must listen to their demands.

He said that the Gwadar movement was not anti-CPEC, as only a fool could oppose the development project.

Sirajul Haq said the government failed to bring an improvement in the overall law and order situation, and expressed concern over rising incidents of women and child abuse in the country.

He demanded effective laws be made and strict punishments be given to the elements involved in such inhuman and criminal acts. He said that minorities living in Pakistan were most respected and they should be given equal rights according to the constitution of Pakistan.

The meeting announced that JI would participate in the local bodies and general elections under its own flag and electoral symbol.

The leaders rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) proposed electoral reforms and electronic voting machines (EVMs), saying that the ruling party had basically planned to rig the next elections through EVMs, which would only bring disaster in future politics.

The party also expressed concern over the continuous silence of the international community on the increasing human rights abuses in Indian occupied Kashmir.

It also expressed regret over the government attitude towards the Kashmir cause.

The leaders appealed to the nation to reject the tested parties and vote for the JI to bring real change in the country.