JUI-F chief warns opposition against giving time to PTI govt

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday said that the opposition parties wanted to give time to the government, but doing so would be tantamount to accepting the fake elections.

Addressing Ulema Convention here, he said that any bid to make the country a secular state would be opposed strongly. He said that the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was a puppet of the external powers.

“The major political parties of the country say that the PTI-led government should be given time. But I tell them that giving time to the current government would not only mean acceptance of the fake elections but also damaging the country and the political system,” he remarked.

The JUI-F leader said PTI Chairman Imran Khan had been making tall claims before elections, but now he has taken a big U-turn on all his pledges. “He had claimed that he would prefer committing suicide instead of taking loans but after coming into power, he has been visiting country after country with a begging bowl,” he added.

About the recent decision of the Supreme Court to acquit the blasphemy convict, Aasia Bibi, the Maulana said that the decision was not acceptable to any Pakistani and lovers of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). He ridiculed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for their remarks in support of the decision, saying that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was executed by the same court.

“Did PPP accept that decision? And Nawaz Sharif was also disqualified by the Supreme Court. Was that decision acceptable to PML-N?” he questioned.

He said that if those decisions were not acceptable to PPP and PML-N, how could the release of a blasphemer be acceptable to the lovers of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The Maulana said that they have come out in the field and would continue their protest till the Supreme Court reviews its verdict.

The Maulana also blasted the establishment, which according to him had been hindering the way of the religious circles for the last 70 years. He said that the government should remain within its limits, otherwise, they would launch a movement to ‘fill jails’. “We would not wait for registration of FIRs and would not get any bail,” he remarked.

The Maulana announced to hold a ‘million march’ in Lahore on November 15. Addressing the convention, central secretary general of the party Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said that there were certain aims of imposing Imran Khan on the nation.

He said that Imran Khan had claimed to commit suicide if his government went to IMF for loans. “We are waiting as to when the ceremony of the suicide of the PTI chief would be held,” he said.