Fazl resents exclusion from Dubai parleys

PESHAWAR: JUIF chief and PDM President Fazlur Rahman Sunday expressed his resentment at not being taken into confidence at the recent meeting between the PPP and PMLN top leadership in Dubai.

“It is a valid question as to why the PDM chief has not been taken into confidence on the meeting, especially by PMLN, an important partner of the movement,” he said while talking to a group of senior media persons here.

Fazl said, “The PDM is a movement and not an electoral alliance. It would be dissolved after the dissolution of coalition government and every party would go to elections from its own platform.”

He further said, “The elections would be held on time. The prime minister has made it clear that the government would be dissolved on completion of its time – August next. We would have to go to elections amid the serious challenges faced by the country.”

The JUIF chief said the volume of foreign loans had started reducing. “The major impediment of the International Monetary Fund has been overcome and the trust of friendly countries is being restored,” he said.

In the first phase, the friendly countries would support Pakistan to overcome its economic crisis while in the second phase they would make investment in the country, he said.

The biggest problem faced by the people is the price-hike, he said, adding economic policies of the government had started bearing the fruit but it would take time for the people to benefit from the policies.

Fazl said the general elections would be held on time. “We hope that the people will not push the country to testing times once again. The common people will have to think big and elect the right people for the well-being of the country,” he added.

He also came down hard on dual policies of the international community.

“It is difficult to understand the policies of the world community. They insult our religion. They burn the Holy Quran and publish blasphemous caricatures. The same world then supports Imran Khan. They try to stop CPEC and close our access to the international trade routes,” he remarked.

Exactly the same is the condition of Imran Khan who spews abuses on the West on the one hand and seeks their support, on the other hand, he said, adding the JUIF had carried out a struggle against Imran Khan and his policies of recognizing Israel and pushing the country towards indecency and lewdness.

He said the JUIF did not consider PTI as a problem in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We will muzzle them in the province,” he claimed.

Regarding the performance of the provincial government, he made it clear that the caretaker government in KP did not belong to the JUIF only. “It is a consensus caretaker setup and only JUIF cannot be held responsible for its performance. Interim governments are always weak setups and their role is defined by the Constitution. The members of the caretaker setup cannot take part in elections,” he said.

Fazl said though Ghulam Ali belonged to the JUIF, he had not become the governor on the JUI recommendation. The party, which has been pointing the finger at the governor, had recommended his name for the office, the JUIF chief said.

“It hurts when your coalition partners resort to your character-assassination. I did not want to speak about them here. But they should remain careful about what they say,” he said.

About civilians’ trials in military courts, Fazl said the army was the appellant and an appeal could be filed against the military courts’ decision with the high courts.

“May 9 was not a simple case. It was an attack on the state and was tantamount to rebellion so its trial would be different than the normal cases,” he said.

He said a British diplomat called on him to express reservations about the crackdown on the perpetrators of May 9 incidents. “When I asked her about their reaction in case of an attack on the Buckingham Palace, she got silent,” he added.

Regarding the establishment’s role during the previous government, he said former DG ISI Lt Gen Faiz Hameed invited him for a meeting which he refused.

Faiz then visited him and put before him three proposals – to make him a member of the Senate, elect him as chairman of the Senate and he would have to introduce reforms within the system – but he declined all his suggestions.

“I told him, Hazrat! You have misunderstood me. My struggle is not aimed at getting a certain office. We are out to save the country,” he said.