Fazl terms JIT controversial

LAHORE: Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and chairman Kashmir committee of the parliament, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said joint investigation team (JIT) on Panama leaks issue has become controversial and its report will also be controversial.

Talking to the media after the annual meeting of the party’s general council at Jamia Madania on Saturday, he said the answer to "who had been conspiring against the government" could only be given by those who had levelled that accusation.

Replying to a question, he said he didn’t find Imran Khan’s comments worth a comment. He said instead of changing the Kashmir Committee head (he himself), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief should be changed to make peace in the country.

To another query, he refused to comment on the Panama leaks inquiry, saying that the matter was sub-judice and should not be commented on.

To another question, he said Pakistan was created for the enforcement of Islamic system and not secularism, adding that his party would continue to struggle inside and outside the parliament for the enforcement of Islamic system in the country. He said neither un-Islamic laws could be imposed in the country or created in the name of Islam, nor such a country could be turned into a secular state.

He warned that those trying to create obstacles in the path of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were actually trying to create serious problems for the country. He said the JUI-F had been running a full fledged campaign across the country for CPEC and countering those opposing the grand project that guarantee a prosperous future for the country.

He strongly condemned the Indian army atrocities on innocent Kashmir civilians and said such brutal tactics could never block Kashmiris march towards freedom, nor dampen their spirits and zeal for achieving their freedom from Indian occupation. He said martyrdom of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani had infused a new wave of spirit among the Muslims of the whole Jammu & Kashmir valley and it would prove to be a decisive factor in their freedom struggle.

Fazl said all Pakistanis were standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their Kashmiri brethren in their fight for Kashmir’s freedom and its merger with Pakistan. He said every drop of blood of Burhan Wani would bear fruit in the form of Kashmiris freedom from Indian occupation.

He also criticised the Indian government for refusing to negotiate the peaceful solution to Kashmir issue with Pakistan, saying Delhi had been avoiding meaningful dialogue on the issue on one pretext or the other for decades. He said Delhi considered Islamabad’s desire for talks as its weakness but it was a mistake because Pakistan being a nuclear power could not be cowed down like that.