PPP stepped back from elections at last moment: Fazl

LAHORE: JUIF chief Fazlur Rehman on Thursday said the general elections could have been held last year but the PPP stepped back at the last moment.

Talking to the media here on Thursday, he said the PPP insisted on bringing a no-confidence motion whereas MQM, Akhtar Mengal and others wanted an immediate election. If the PPP had not backed out, the election would have been held then. He said elections would be held by the end of February since early polls were impossible due to the national security and economic situation.

Fazl claimed after the signing of CPEC agreements, the US came into action to bring political instability and block foreign investment to Pakistan, especially that of China, under a sinister plan by imposing a puppet government through rigging.

He said those who brought the PTI Chairman Imran Khan admitted that they had some other agenda for doing so. “PTI was brought to make the country economically weak, freeze CPEC, bring political instability, and derail the journey of development,” he added. “This was proved when the government froze huge CPEC mega-projects, scared foreign investors away, and curtailed remittances, thus subjecting the country to economic instability,” he said.

Earlier, addressing the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Conference, Fazlur Rehman termed September 7 a historic day to be remembered for the protection of the country’s ideological borders just like September 6. He also asked why all the pressure was on Pakistan to recognize Israel, saying intellectuals on TV channels during the previous regime used to paint a rosy picture for the country in return for recognizing Israel.