Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawwar Hassan and Tehreek-i-Tahaffuze Pakistan leader Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan have said that they would save Pakistan together and change its fate for the better.
The two leaders were addressing the Azm-i-Inquilab (commitment to revolution) here on Sunday.
Hassan said that the fate of the country could not be changed if people voted the same politicians back into power. He said most of these politicians were capitalists and not “people’s men”.
“How can a party that could not catch the killers of its own leader promise people justice?” he asked. He demanded that the elections be held under an impartial caretaker government. He urged the people to shun those who had been ruling the country for more than 60 years.
Dr Khan urged the people to follow their hearts and minds and elect those who would serve them. He said if people “sold” their votes, they would suffer again for five years.
He regretted that Pakistan was considered a third world country by many, but had great resources.
Pakistan, he said, now needed a patriot to be its ruler. If people were not careful with their votes this time, he said, “having already lost roti and kapra (bread and cloth), they will lose their makans (homes) as well”.
The two leaders expressed their satisfaction with their candidates for the general elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 18th, 2013.