Daily Times

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq said that the people clinging to power in spite of the exposure of their corruption had set the worst example of intransigence.

He was speaking at a ceremony marking the appointment of new President and Secretary General of the Kisan Board of Pakistan (KBP) here on Saturday. Siraj said that all those whose names had been mentioned in the Panama leaks should have resigned from their offices till the issue was cleared through a transparent probe.

The JI chief said that people from all walks of life were badly disappointed because of the government policies. The kisans, doctors, teachers and workers were holding rallies to press for the solution of their problems but the rulers considered that all was well.

He said that the plight of the farmers could not improve unless they were given due share in the income of the lands. Similarly, the industrial workers must be given share in the incomes of the industries. He also called for lowering the tariff for agricultural tube wells to enable the farmers irrigate their lands on time, and also for reducing the prices of agricultural inputs.

He said that Pakistan was an agricultural country but agriculture was on the verge of destruction due to the nonpayment of the price of their crops and frequent raise in the prices of farm inputs. The supply of irrigation water was shrinking day by day due to which the per acre yield of major crops had come down. Vast areas in the south Punjab had been rendered barren due to the shortage of water. The yield of cotton, paddy, sugarcane and wheat had considerably reduced and if the situation remained the same, the country would have to beg for food from other countries.

He suggested that the ownership rights of vast tracts of state land lying barren in south Punjab and other parts of the country should be given to their tillers and canals should be build up to these tracts in order to help raise farm output. He appreciated the computerisation of land records but added that the small land holders whose lands had been occupied by feudal lords and vaderas should also be heard. He said that the law did not come into action in such cases.

The JI chief stressed that the farmers be given interest free loans. He said that the State Bank had devised different schemes for this purpose and it only needed will power for the government to implement these schemes. He said the attitude of the rulers indicated that they only thought of metro bus and Orange Line train projects.

Nisar Ahmed Advocate took over as the new KBP chief in place of Sadiq Khan Khakwani. Arslan Khan Khakwani has been appointed Secretary General of the body. JI deputy chiefs Hafiz Muhammad Idrees and Mian Muhammad Aslam, JI Secretary General Liaqat Baloch and other party leaders were also present.