Avenfield verdict can make polls controversial: Fazl

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) president and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Saturday said that the verdicts like that of the accountability court against the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif could make the forthcoming general elections controversial.

“The people are comparing this judgment with the capital punishment handed down to former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party head Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Such verdicts would create doubts about the credibility of the upcoming general elections,” he told separate public meetings here.

The Maulana said that the response of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif to the verdict against his elder brother was a cautious one. He said that the verdict against Nawaz Sharif was the continuity of the decision of his disqualification as prime minister.

“But the question arises whether we can present this verdict as an example to the world or not,” he questioned.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, the Maulana said that it was proved that the PTI chief and party leader Shafqat Mahmood were behind the amendment in the Khatm-i-Nabuwat law.

The JUI-F chief said the previous PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa indebted the province heavily and secured Rs300 billion loans in the last five years.

He said that the JUI-F would tender an apology to PTI if the body probing the Billion Tree Tsunami project could prove that the saplings the PTI claimed to have planted were really existed on the ground.

He said that the opponents of JUI-F had failed to hoodwink the supporters and people of his constituency by offering them lucrative offers.

“I salute you that you are voted for those who are working for upholding the principles of Islam and promotion of teachings of Islam,” he went on to say. The Maulana said that it was JUI-F that had completed several uplift works in Dera Ismail Khan and established an agriculture university.

He said the construction of CPEC route in Dera Ismail Khan would prove a millstone in bringing about economic revolution in the area.

A grid station was being constructed at Yarik union council, he said, adding that the vote had replaced the sword and asked the people to exercise their right to vote carefully and choose the right people to protect their rights and principles and teaching of Islam.