Fazl says PTI had blocked wheel of development

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday said they had kick-started the journey of development, which was stalled during the tenure of the previous PTI government.

“The foreign agents, who were imposed on this country, had stalled the country’s economy and pushed our areas into backwardness,” he maintained while addressing a gathering after inaugurating uplift projects in his native Dera Ismail Khan district.

Federal Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mahmood, caretaker provincial minister for Agriculture Abdul Haleem Qasuriya, JUIF district general secretary Chaudhry Ashfaq, Advocate, and others were also present.

Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the JUIF had staged some 14 million marches, but his party workers did not damage a single flowerpot. “We even staged a demonstration outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad, but our workers took care of the flowerpots placed near the apex court,” he added. “Though we staged demonstrations to record our protests, we knew the boundaries of the state,” he said, adding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and workers attacked the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the corps commander’s house in Lahore and disrespected the memorials of martyrs.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the president of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), said they had kick-started the journey of development, which was stalled during the tenure of the previous government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He said those who facilitated rigging in the 2018 general election and those who benefited from it were all known to the nation.

The JUIF leader said he felt happy to see that this underdeveloped area had been put on the path of development once again. He added the journey of progress, which was halted during the PTI government, had restarted again.

He said the PTI had ruined the country and had stopped work on all the mega development projects, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The CPEC route, which was passing through Daraban, would connect the Daraban area with the Indus Highway via Musazai, Chodhwan, Kirri Shamozai and Ramak. “This road was approved at the time of approval of CPEC and a bridge was supposed to be built over the Indus River,” he maintained. The Maulana said three districts, including Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Karak, would also be connected with CPEC, adding the Bannu Road would be connected with Chashma Road from three different points, including Khundal, Dhakki and Mufti Mahmood Chowk on Dera Bypass.