Many countries refuse visa to Fazl over his reputation: Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Tuesday said the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has such a reputation that many European countries did not issue visa to him.

In an interview with Kashmir Narrator, Imran Khan said the Kashmir Committee led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman was a failure in all aspects. He said Fazlur Rehman has occupied the leadership of the committee to enjoy perks and roam around the world on government expenses.

The PTI chief lashed out at former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday for inflicting immense damage to the Kashmir issue by proclaiming United Nation’s (UN) Kashmir Resolutions outdated. He said the UN resolutions were significant for reaffirming and legitimising Kashmiris’ struggle to exercise their right to self- determination. He added that the resolutions were significant and played a pivotal role in Kashmir’s conflict resolution.

Imran Khan also criticised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for undermining the Kashmiri struggle in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) by recognising and officially becoming a part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony in 2014. He added that Nawaz, the-then PM of Pakistan, visited India but didn’t meet the Hurriyat Conference’s leadership in New Delhi to assure Pakistan’s solidarity to their cause. He said Nawaz had kept his business interests his priority rather than pushing the country’s interests.

He claimed that if the PTI came to power after the general elections of 2018, he would deliver ground-breaking proposals for the resolution of Kashmir conflict. The PTI chief stated that the party was already working on the proposals and their Kashmiri policy would not be restricted to declaratory platitudes.

Meanwhile, talking to journalists in Islamabad, Imran deplored the lodging of terrorism cases against him for his political struggle. He said a terrorism case was registered against a person, who hurled a shoe at Nawaz Sharif recently with regards to a Khatm-e-Nabuwwat issue.

He claimed the anti-terrorism law was made for ulterior motives and insisted that the terrorist clause could not be invoked on holding of demonstration, using democratic right. Imran supported the demand for live coverage of Nawaz's corruption cases’ proceedings.

"Risks have to be taken to make big decisions. A man should be judged by the decisions he makes," he maintained and attacked the PML-N for its policies. While referring to defections in the ranks of the ruling party, he said that people flock to the party when in power and desert it otherwise. He was of the firm view that there should be no terrorism cases against political opponents.

"The Sharif family has nothing in its money trail except for the Qatari letter," he asserted, while referring to the ongoing corruption cases against the Sharif family.

Responding to a question, Imran said both Sharif brothers were attempting to deceive the nation by playing a drama i.e. while Nawaz attacks the state institutions, his brother Shahbaz tries to show he can mend fences.

“Shahbaz is seen using nice words for the judiciary and showing his love for General Bajwa and attempts to meet him secretly for an NRO,” he alleged.

On the question of forming an alliance with the PPP, he said both Asif Zardari and Nawaz indulged in corruption but their modus operandi was different.

Imran criticised the use of the bulk of Punjab's development funds on Lahore and said the sense of deprivation in southern parts of the province was genuine. He pointed out that 57 percent of the total development budget of the province was being spent on Lahore and Raiwind.

Shahbaz, he alleged, tried to please people of South Punjab by launching metro bus service and Faisal Subhan conceded to be his frontman for minting money and sending it abroad.