Jamaat-e-Islami meeting reviews political situation

A high-level advisory meeting of Jamaat-e-Islami held at Mansoora Thursday reviewed the prevailing political situation of the country. JI Ameer, Syed Munawar Hasan, was in the chair in the meeting. JI Secretary General, Liaqat Baloch, presented a report of his contacts with the opposition parties.
Later, talking to the media, Baloch said that the meeting decided to intensify contacts with opposition parties on the one point agenda of forcing the government in order to pave way for free, fair and transparent elections under an interim government and an independent Election Commission. He said the JI was of the firm view that the elections of the year 2008 had proved unproductive and a fresh mandate had become essential.
The JI meeting, he said, condemned government's steps resulting in the memo scandal. However, he clarified that any supra constitutional move would not be desirable. He emphasised that JI, which expected the government to remain within its constitutional limits, also wanted the armed forces and judiciary to do the same.
The JI, he said, was of the view that President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and their allies were responsible for the prevailing situation as they wanted to create a situation of a confrontation with the armed forces and the judiciary in order to achieve political martyrdom. However, he believed that the rulers would not gain anything in this game and at the same time, democracy would suffer.
Liaqat Baloch said that independence of the judiciary and faithful implementation of its decisions was unavoidable. Likewise, he said, the armed forces were an important national institution and a negative attitude towards it would only benefit the enemy. He said that the rulers were trying to create a permanent distance between the people and the armed forces.
He warned that if the government made any attempt to curtail the independence and the powers of the judiciary, the JI and the masses would resist that as in the past. Those attending the meeting included JI Deputy Ameer, Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Saleemi, deputy SG, Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha, Director, Idara Ma'arif-e-Islami, Hafiz Muhammad Idrees and Director Foreign Affairs, JI, Abdul Ghaffar Aziz.