Politics, democracy possible only in peace: Sirajul Haq

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QUETTA: Jamat-e-Islami Ameer, Senator Sirajul Haq has stressed that efforts for peace in the country should not be sacrificed at the altar of politics and added that politics and democracy were possible only in peace in the country.

He was addressing a press conference here on Friday after visiting the residences of the martyrs of the recent tragedy in the city. He expressed his condolences to the families of the martyrs. He also visited different hospitals and enquired about the welfare of the injured, and prayed for their early recovery. He was accompanied by JI Balochistan chief Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi and former provincial chief Abdul Mateen Akhudzada.

The JI chief said that if India was behind the Quetta carnage, she should be exposed without yielding to any pressure or fear.

Sirajul Haq said it was unfortunate that while the Quetta tragedy was still fresh in the minds of the people, the parties in the Parliament had begun to malign one another. He said that this was the time to promote national unity and harmony instead of throwing mud on each other.

Sirajul Haq said that the demon of terrorism could be tackled through mutual cooperation and coordinated efforts of all concerned. He said that instead of providing protection to the masses, the rulers had confined themselves to big palaces.  He said that Quetta had turned into Karbala while Karachi was red due to target killings and Peshawar was ablaze due to bombardment.

The JI chief said that peace in the country was linked to the peace in Balochistan and if if that province remained disturbed, peace would elude the country.

He urged the federal and the provincial governments to learn a lesson from the Quetta tragedy and plan to prevent any future attack. He said that the US would not come to protect us from terrorism and we would have to extinguish this fire ourselves.

The JI chief said if there was India’s hand behind the Quetta attack, it must be exposed without yielding to any pressure or fear.

Sirajul Haq said that after the APS Peshawar tragedy, all political and religious parties had offered total cooperation to the government and given a clear cut mandate in this respect. However, the terrorists were targeting cities and towns in the country,

He said that in this hour of grief, the Prime Minister should have provided solace to the nation. However, he said that the Prime Minister who had addressed the nation thrice about Panama leaks, did not care to speak to the nation in this hour of grief.

He said still it was time that the Prime Minister call an APC at Quetta and take all institutions on board. A fool proof programme should be prepared with the cooperation of the Baloch and Pushtoon population to wipe out terrorism from the biggest province of the country.  “We should not rest till the culprits of the Quetta tragedy were hauled up, he added.

He said that popular tourist spots in the country were deserted because of terrorist attacks. He said that providing security to the masses was the responsibility of the government and security institutions as common man could not do that.

He stressed that clear cut strategy and a road map for the security of public places including hospitals, educational institutions be prepared. He said the JI was ready to extend all possible cooperation but added that the there should be no false promises.