Govt-opposition talks on ToRs almost dead: Liaqat

LAHORE, June 26: Acting Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaqat Baloch, has said that the government-opposition talks on the ToRs were almost dead as the ruling party and some elements of the opposition did not want accountability.
Speaking at a party meeting held at Mansoora to make preparations for the JI march against corruption in Rawalpindi after Eid, he however declared that the JI stuck to its demand for indiscriminate accountability of the government and the opposition through a judicial commission headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Deputy Chiefs Hafiz Muhammad Idrees, Rashid Naseem, Mian Muhammad Aslam and other party leaders attended the meeting.
Liaqat Baloch said that the corrupt people were a strong group which wanted to run the country according to their wishes regardless of the law and the constitution while the government pressure had virtually crippled NAB and other investigation agencies. The JI acting chief said that some recent decisions of the PPP and the PTI had harmed the opposition stance and benefited the government. However, he said, the JI wanted a thorough enquiry into the Panama leaks, Dubai Leaks etc. and other corruption scandals and bring the culprits to the law. Liaqat Baloch said the government parliamentary team in the ToRs committee had started creating obstacles from the very beginning and after wasting about a month time, certain elements had almost buried the important national issue. However, he said the nation wanted indiscriminate accountability of the corrupt and the JI would not withdraw from this national demand. Liaqat Baloch said if the government did not show willingness for accountability even after the Rawalpindi pedestrian march, the JI would bring the masses on roads in all the four provincial capitals and the federal capital and would not allow the government to flee from accountability. He said it was a pity that a handful of people had forced the masses to live in abject poverty whereas the plunderers were living in palaces and enjoying all luxuries of life. The common man had to work hard to get two times meals and found it hard to arrange good food and new clothing for his children on Eid. On the other hand, the plunderers were busy in amassing billions for their coming generations. He was sure that this system of exploitation would not last any longer. -SABAH