Fazl parries question about KP CM ouster

PESHAWAR: Avoiding comments on the change of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday said that the province was suffering from growing lawlessness and record corruption and even the ruling party -- Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf -- itself has now acknowledged the fact.

Addressing a news conference here, the JUIF chief alleged that his party’s mandate was stolen in KP and Balochistan. He expressed serious concern over the current political environment which, according to him, has been marred by corruption and misgovernance.

About Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, Maulana Fazlur Rehman stressed that the soil of either country should not be used against the other. “During the 20-year war, did we not provide airspace and bases to the US? Yet, have the Taliban ever protested about it?” he questioned.

“An unstable Afghanistan is not in the interest of Pakistan. Both the countries share deep cultural, ideological and tribal ties, particularly along the long Pashtun border,” he went on to add.

About the mineral resources of KP and Balochistan, the JUIF leader said these were provincial matters and they must be handled transparently. He expressed concern that the US was showing increasing interest in the natural resources of the two provinces for which the government should take the nation into confidence before entering any foreign investment agreements.

“We are not against investment. But such deals must be open, transparent and made with national consensus,” he remarked.

Regarding the recent statements by certain Indian officials, the JUIF chief reiterated his loyalty to the country and its defence forces. He recalled that JUIF had always stood behind the national army in times of national crisis, including wars against India.

The Maulana announced holding a historic “Mufti Mehmood Conference” in Dera Ismail Khan on October 16 where the participants will express strong solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza. “Grave atrocities are being committed against the people of Gaza. The JUI-F and the people of Pakistan stand firmly with them,” he declared.

Commenting on domestic politics, Fazlur Rehman said that filing petitions against the 26th Constitutional Amendment is every citizen’s democratic right, but he warned political parties particularly the PTI against indulging in “point-scoring.”

He alleged that PTI was part and parcel of the deliberations that led to the 26th Amendment and remained engaged till the final stages but is now attempting to politicize the issue.