A ‘euphemism’ for plunder, says JI chief

LAHORE, April 30: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan on Saturday said with the departure of `a gang of thieves` from the government, another had joined it in the name of reconciliation. Addressing office-bearers of the Shabab-e-Milli at Mansoora, he said all these people were trying to protect one another`s corruption. He said the JI was determined to free the nation from plunderers, feudal lords and capitalists, adding that the nation too would have to decide how long it would continue to be misled by the corrupt. Hasan said the Muslim League and the PPP had been looting the people turn by turn. Other parties in the ruling alliance — the MQM and ANP â€" and the so-called opposition had paid little attention to people`s problems. He said the nation should decide not to support these plunderers and instead support the JI and enable it recover every penny from the corrupt. He accused the rulers of betraying the objectives of Pakistan`s creation by selling the nation for dollars. However, the US still did not trust the rulers despite huge sacrifices offered by the nation as Washington was accusing them of non-cooperation. The JI chief exhorted the youth of the Shabab-e-Milli to help the masses, especially the downtrodden, in every possible manner. Speaking at the workshop of the Shabab-e-Milli at Mansoora on Saturday, JI Secretary-General Liaquat Baloch said the government, opposition, the armed forces and the Establishment were equally to be blamed for the present mess in the country. Liaquat Baloch said the present rulers continued Pervez Muharraf`s pro-US policies thereby giving a serious blow to the country`s independence and sovereignty. The US had been able to set up a terrorist network all over the country and was shedding innocent citizens` blood. The JI secretary-general said the PML-N had provided crutches to the ruling PPP for the last three years and now another Muslim League faction offered its services to the government. He said the elite had held the masses hostages but warned that if no effort was made to improve the situation, the elite won`t be able to save themselves from a bloody revolution. JI chief from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan and Shabab-e-Milli chief Attiqur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.