JI wants PM Shehbaz to take 'trust vote from nation'

• Election date can’t be fixed on the wish a single party, says Haq
• "Election with consensus is the sole solution," he says.  
• "Just like lawmakers, judges are also not on the same page." 

Reacting to the vote of confidence secured by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from the National Assembly, Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Siraj Ul Haq on Thursday said it would be better if the premier also takes the trust vote from the people.

With 180 MNAs reposing full confidence in his leadership, PM Shehbaz won the trust vote from the NA earlier today.

Haq — who played an important role in bringing the incumbent government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to the table — stressed the need for general elections to end the ongoing political crisis and steer the country out of the quagmire.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government and the PTI finally sat on the negotiating table today to discuss the poll date following Supreme Court's orders.

In the first round of talks — which lasted for around two hours — at the Parliament House's Committee Room Number 3, both sides informed each other about their top leadership's stance, sources told Geo News. The second meeting will be held tomorrow.

Talking to a journalist, the JI emir said that both sides would have to show flexibility for the success of the negotiation. 

“The parliament and the judiciary have come face to face,” he said.

Haq said that everyone is interpreting the Constitution by themselves. He maintained that all the constitutional, political, and economic crises were impacting just the masses.

Stressing the need for consensus among all the political forces, the JI leader said that the election date can’t be fixed on the wish of a single party.

“Election with consensus is the sole solution [to the ongoing crisis in the country], he added.

“Just like lawmakers, judges are also not on the same page,” Haq said, adding that instead of making decisions in haste, the matter should be left to the politicians.

The JI leader said that his party had demanded in the beginning that a full-court bench should be formed to hear the election case.

“The judiciary, the establishment and the Election Commission of Pakistan should remain impartial in the elections,” Haq said.

Stressing the need for free and fair elections in the country, the JI leader said that the institutions did not play their role as per the Constitution in the past. He maintained that his party has presented a roadmap in the SC about the elections.