Fazl claims govt made lucrative offers to end Azadi March

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed on Thursday they were offered the posts of Balochistan government, chairman Senate and governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) but they rejected all those offers and continued their protest movement against the government.

Addressing a press conference here, Maulana Fazl said people would soon get “good news of new elections and end of the government”. He claimed the PTI-led government made various attempts to “bribe” him with lucrative offers during his recent Azadi March.

“You don’t know what offers they made,” he said referring to the government. “I was told to leave my seat (at the sit-in) and I could get re-elected to the assembly from Dera Ismail Khan,” he said.

Maulana Fazl said he was offered to become the governor of Balochistan or form his government in the province. “I was also offered the post of Senate chairman,” he said: “I thought all the offers being made to me were belittling.”The JUI-F chief called on the election commissioner to decide the PTI’s foreign funding case before his retirement and that the terms of all chief election commissioners to be extended.

He said the Islamabad march had now spread to other parts of the country, adding there would be general elections and a public representative government would be formed. He said there was no way for the Prime Minister and he would have to step down.

Maulana Fazl said the words used in the Prime Minister’s speech did not suit him, saying they wanted progress in the country, however, progress had been squeezed in the incumbent government’s tenure.

He said Rahbar Committee decided to end the closing of highways thanks to the workers who closed the highways for a week, now the movement would go to the bazaars of the country and demonstrations would start in every district.He said the country’s economy had been destroyed in one year.