JUI-F to resume anti-govt campaign from March 19

KARACHI: The Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl has geared up its preparations to resume its campaign against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government from Lahore by organising a national-level gathering on March 19.

It was announced by the JUI-F’s central secretary general Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri on Wednesday in a media talk. Haidri, who is also former deputy chairman of Senate, said that the PTI had no justification to stay further in power after the Transparency International’s recent report, on corruption and unbearable hike in the price of essential commodities.

“The federal government continues to rattle from the aftershocks of our successful Azadi March and now we are launching another round of protests against the government from March,” Haideri said.

The JUI-F will organise the provincial workers' convention in all four provinces and after it, a national-level ‘Constitution of Pakistan Conference’ would be held in Lahore on March 19. “On March 19 conference, the party will formally outline its strategy of anti-government protest,” said Haidri.

He said that the JUI-F was encouraged with the success of Azadi March where people from all walks of life and from all over the country attended the anti-government campaign in Islamabad to get rid of the “incompetent and illegitimate government”.

Criticizing the federal government’s recent move of establishing a new institution ‘National Coastal Development Authority’ for Gwadar, Haidri warned the PTI government not to attempt amending the 18th Amendment which would be considered an attack on the constitution.

“Setting up federal-level coastal authority is tantamount to federal government’s interference in the provincial affairs and the JUI-F along with other political parties strongly opposes it,” he said. “The federal government should withdraw the decision of establishing the authority immediately because it would cause chaos in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.”

Earlier, the JUI-F’s central and provincial leaders, including Muhammad Aslam Ghauri, Maulana Abdul Karim Abid, Qari Muhammad Usman, Samiul Haq Swati, and Maulana Ghayas condoled with JUP’s vice-chairperson Maulana Shah Owais Noorani over passing away of the widow of party’s deceased chief Allama Shah Ahmed Noorani, in Karachi.