MARDAN: Warning the government against undoing the 18th Amendment, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday said Pakistan stood isolated at the international level due to the flawed economic and foreign policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government.
“The government and some institutions want to roll back the 18th amendment, but it could be harmful for the federation,” he said while addressing the participants of a “million march” organised under the banner of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). He said they have pledged to protect the constitution.
MMA leaders Mufti Kifayatullah, Maulana Shah Owais Noorani, Rashid Mahmood Soomro, Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai, Akram Khan Durrani, Maulana Amanat Shah, Maulana Shujaul Mulk, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, and others also addressed the gathering.
Fazlur Rehman said the participation of a large number of people in the march showed that the government had lost the trust of the masses. The government is conspiring to amend the law that had declared the Ahmadiyya community as a minority, the JUI-F leader said, adding, the government would not be allowed to please a particular community.
The Maulana said the issue of recognising Israel was being debated in the National Assembly. He added that some retired military generals had also started talking on TV shows to mould the public opinion in a bid to recognise the Jewish state. “It would be a betrayal to the ideology of Pakistan and the objectives for which the country came into being,” he maintained. He lamented that “puppet rulers” were standing by the enemies of Islam.
He warned Islamabad against recognising Israel as he believed the move would damage Pakistan’s stance over Kashmir since it would legitimise India’s occupation over the valley. Fazlur Rehman said the government had borrowed heavily in the last five months, increasing the country’s foreign debt burden.
He added his party would not allow the implementation of any foreign agenda contrary to the teachings of Islam. The JUI-F supporters would not hesitate to render any sacrifice to protect the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat law, he added.
He said the PTI stole public mandate and the last general election was rigged in favour of Imran Khan-led party. He added the PTI government came into power through rigging. “The MMA would defend the 18th Amendment at all costs,” he vowed.
He said the way the West had been celebrating the release of Aasia Bibi “showed the reality of the issue”. “If the Aasia Bibi’s release is only a legal decision, why praise is being heaped on the former Chief Justice of Pakistan and [Prime Minister] Imran Khan? What kind of legal decision is this which is being celebrated by the West?” the Maulana asked. “I have been arguing since long that Imran Khan is a representative of the Jewish lobby and has been appointed by the West to play its proxies,” he claimed.
The JUI-F chief added that a former prime minister and opposition politicians were put behind bars before the last general election to pave the way for the victory of the PTI.
He added that PTI appreciated the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when it arrested the leaders of the opposition parties but when it started investigations against Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan and arrested Punjab government senior minister Aleem Khan the PTI leaders criticised the anti-graft body.