Is govt tense or relaxed?

ISLAMABAD: The agreement between the administration of the federal capital and JUI-F local leaders pertaining to the Azadi March is in doldrums as tension on the leadership echelon has abruptly heightened and the government is frightened that once the marchers reach Islamabad, it wouldn’t be possible to confine them to the provisions of the agreement.

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Well-placed sources told The News here Monday that the government, which was satisfied about the guarantors/guarantees, appears to be getting nervous now due to unknown reasons. The JUI-F will not offer a word about backing out from the agreement till the march reaches Islamabad at the stipulated place as was done by the PTI-PAT in 2014 long march that subsequently turned into sit-in and landed in front of Parliament House on Constitution Avenue’s D-Chowk of the Red-Zone.

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The sources said the government has provided the JUI-F enough ground for revoking the agreement as knee jerk reaction, but it wouldn’t react recklessly and would wait till Thursday evening to offer its formal reaction. The KP cabinet has taken decision to stop JUI-F workers in the garb of allegations that they have prepared catapult and long sticks. Their workers have been resisted in Balochistan. The top leaders like Hafiz Hamdullah and Maulana Kifayatullah have been restrained from defending their leadership. Despite these all actions, the JUI-F leadership is exercising restraint in expressing its sentiments. The agreement between the administration and local JUI-F has limited bearing on the authorities concerned although the district administration can call any of the security agencies for its help but if the agreement is concluded at the highest echelon, it could become a state document and state by standing on high moral ground can ask its any organ for an action, the sources pointed out.

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Meanwhile, a central leader of the JUI-F, former senator Hafiz Hussain Ahmad has made it clear that the JUI-F didn’t strike an agreement with the government on the committee level.

“The committees didn’t address the real issues,” he added. For the time being, the two sides are interested in holding the agreement, but down the line in 48 to 72 hours, the situation could be drastically changed. The sources hinted that Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, who was leading the government committee for negotiations, tried to establish contact with the opposition’s Rahbar Committee head Akram Khan Durrani on Monday, but they couldn’t establish contact. Despite repeated phone calls by this correspondent, Pervaiz Khattak couldn’t be contacted for his version regarding his attempts to reach Akram Durrani.

The sources maintained that Maulana Fazlur Rehman is in constant contact with all nine parties’ leaders which are part of the march, including the PML-N.

He is keen to visit Nawaz Sharif tomorrow (Wednesday) when he will be in Lahore, but the meeting could take place after the permission of the doctors attending Nawaz Sharif, the sources said. The sources disclosed that all nine parties’ leaders will be with Maulana Fazlur Rehman on his container when he will be entering Islamabad on Thursday from GT Road.