LAHORE – Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan on Wednesday condemned the government policy of expanding trade relations with India, putting aside the core issue of Kashmir and ignoring the sacrifices rendered by Kashmiris.
In a press statement, Munawar called on the rulers not to sell out Kashmir and demanded that talks be held with India on equal footing. “Vital national issues should not be ignored to boost trade with India under the US pressure,” he stressed.
The Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer said that having accepted the US slavery, the Pakistan government had also yielded to Indian hegemony; and national interests and the Kashmir issue had been put at the back burner to strengthen trade ties with India. “The country’s economy is being ruined by importing vegetables and other items from India; while indigenous products are being made costly by raising electricity tariff and POL prices,” he regretted.
Munawar said that Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain was ready to import petrol from India though imports from Iran were much cheaper. “However, because the US is against Iran, the rulers will go for imports from India at higher rates,” he added.