Siraj fears civil war over delay in elections.

BAJAUR -- Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) central chief Sirajul Haq on Wednesday reiterated the call for the immediate holding of national and provincial assembly elections saying it will ease the current political crisis in the country.

'Political turmoil in the country is increasing fast. I fear that it will lead to a civil war if elections of the national and provincial assemblies aren't held immediately and simultaneously,' Mr Haq told a public meeting here.

The event was held to launch the party's four-day 'Haqooq-i-Qabail' March.

The JI chief said that elections were a solution to the current economic crisis as well. He said that the holding of elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies only would be a waste of the taxpayers' money.

Mr Siraj said that the federal government claimed that over Rs72 billion was required to conduct elections in every province, but ironically, it wasn't opting for general elections in the country the same day to save the taxpayers' money.

He said that members of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration feared their 'shameful' defeat in elections and therefore, they were opposed to the simultaneous polls in the country.

The JI leader said that the prime minister and leaders of other ruling parties should understand the gravity of the ongoing political and economic crises and agree to the announcement of the schedule for general elections across the country without delay to serve national interest.

He urged the top judiciary and the Election Commission of Pakistan to play their due role in easing the political crisis in the country by performing their respective jobs with neutrality and impartiality.

Mr Siraj said that his party would actively...