Nation united to defend country, says Fazlur Rehman

CHARSADDA: JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday said that the nation was united and ready to render any sacrifice to defend the country against any internal and external aggression.

Speaking at a public meeting as part of his party’s public contact campaign here, the Maulana made it clear to India not tounderestimate the ability and capabilities of Pakistan. He said India had resorted to unprovoked firing at the Line of Control (LoC) and was targeting the positions of the security forces, which was an act of open aggression.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed reservations over the report of the Fata Reforms Committee and its recommendation to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said that he had expressed reservations over the report on the floor of the National Assembly, saying the JUI-F would not allow anyone to impose decisions on tribespeople.The JUI-F chief demanded holding a referendum to decide the future of Fata. “Let the tribespeople decide for themselves,” he added.

He said that he considered the military operation in tribal areas against the tribespeople and not militants. “The tribespeople are the worse affectees of this operation. They suffered the most due to this offensive,” he added.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, the JUI-F chief said that he was a ‘Jewish’ agent and promoting their agenda. “The PTI politics has failed. They speak against corruption but in fact they are involved in corruption,” he alleged.

He urged for framing a full-fledged policy for Afghan refugee repatriation. The policy should help stop harassment of Afghans, he added. About the promulgation of Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism (Jasta) bill by the US Congress, a bill that would allow 9/11 victims’ families to sue Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the attacks, he said that if the United States believed in justice then it should give the same right to victims’ families in Iraq, Pakistan Afghanistan, Libya and other countries to sue the US for killing thousands of innocent people in drone attacks and overt and covert operations.