LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami(JI)emir Senator Sirajul Haq has said MQM`s sudden and unexpected decision to quit from assemblies is both surprising and sentimental.

In his comments on the development, he said political parties were weak in the country but the leaders were comparatively stronger, and politics revolved around the interests of personalities instead of principles.

The JI chief said the persisting political crises were a bad omen for democracy as politics stood for mod-eration and stability and not emotionalism.

He said the MQM`s resignations were also a test for the federal government.

The JI chief said the port city had been facing bloodletting and disturbance for the last 28 years and the residents wanted to see peace and happiness in the city. Therefore, all stakeholders should rise above their interests and strive for a solution to the problems of the general public.

GUJRAT: JI Secretary-GeneralLiaqat Baloch has called the resignations of MQM parliamentarians a traditional blackmailing tactic.

He advised the speakers of assemblies as well as Senate chairman to adopt the same methodology with these resignations which had been practiced in the case of resignations of PTI parliamentarians so that MQM members were brought back to parliament.

If attempts to bring them back fail, there should be transparent by-elections for the vacant seats, Mr Baloch told Dawn on Wednesday. Dawn Report