LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami emir Senator Sirajul Haq has called upon the chief justice of Pakistan to constitute a judicial commission to probe into the alleged video of Islamabad Accountability Court judge Arshad Malik so that the nation could know the facts.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, he said that an independent judiciary was a pillar of the state and the alleged video was a question mark on the entire judicial system.

He blamed the government for what he said making the state institutions controversial.

He said “political and economic terrorists” were occupying the corridors of power and contrary to its promises the government had failed to hold the plunderers accountable. He added there was only hullabaloo in the name of accountability.

Mr Haq said the government had not been able to retrieve even a single penny out of $375 billion parked in the bank accounts abroad as per claims of the ruling Pakistan Teheek-i-Insaf.

Similarly, he said, none of the people named in the Panama Leaks had been hauled up, nor the cases of mega corruption lying with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) opened.

The JI emir said the PTI came into power on the basis of “rosy promises” and tall claims”, but failed within a year to do anything concrete and the masses had been totally disappointed as new taxes were being levied every day.

He said that on the other hand the government had given the powers of the ‘East India Company’ to the IMF. He said the cries of the people burdened by the taxes and price-hike were not reaching Banigala, the private residence of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said the JI was continuing its drive against price spiral and unemployment and against the rulers who were “salves of the IMF”.

He announced that the JI would hold “Awami March” at Multan on July 12 and at Rawalpindi on July 19. The JI emir, however, parried a question about his party’s stance on the proposed no-confidence move against the Senate chairman, saying the public issue at present was price-hike.

He demanded the prime minister to take up the Kashmir issue at his meeting with US President Donald Trump, adding the government would have to abandon its “apologetic attitude” on the Kashmir issue.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2019