Govt has ‘ruined’ the country in every aspect, says Fazl

Ag Agencies

BANNU: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday rejected calls for him to turn himself in to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for grilling into an assets-beyond-means case, and said the government had “ruined” the country in every way, Geo News reported.

Criticising the Prime Minister at a PDM gathering here, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief said: “I am being told that I would have to surrender before the NAB. [But] my forefathers never bowed before anyone.”

He was referring to the Prime Minister’s remarks in a party meeting on December 21 last year where he told PTI members and spokespersons that Maulana Fazl had acquired assets beyond means hence he must account for it and “surrender before NAB”, according to Geo News. The NAB’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa offices are currently investigating the JUI-F chief and his relatives in an assets-beyond-means case.

Fazlur Rehman followed up the remarks by stressing the anti-government alliance’s struggle “is for democracy and rule of law in the country” and that the PDM had shown the nation the “path to freedom and democracy”.

He congratulated the people of Bannu for the manner in which they declared their “rebellion” against Imran Khan and his government. Rehman said: “He says he will file a case of sedition against us. Today I say: Whoever is loyal to Imran Khan, I call him a traitor.”

He said the government has “ruined the country in every way” and referred to the Machh tragedy as “more proof of unrest”. He also cited the alleged police killing of a young man in Islamabad and the incidents of robberies in the federal capital, which he claimed was the “highest in the country” as more evidence of the government’s “incompetence”.

Ahead of his speech in Bannu, Maulana Fazl also spoke to reporters in Dera Ismail Khan. There, he said the “fake assembly” would not be allowed to complete its tenure. “The present assemblies have been created by overlooking the people’s mandate,” he said.

He claimed the Prime Minister is “on the retreat”. “Hindrances were created in PDM’s public meetings at Multan and Lahore. The local media was forced to do misreporting and international media rejected this misreporting,” he added.

He also spoke about the government’s “tall claims” of eradicating terrorism. “The tribal areas and Balochistan are insecure,” he added.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government spokesman Kamran Bangash said the use of seminary students for PDM’s political rallies was “highly condemnable”.

In a statement, he said Maulana Fazl was now bringing seminaries’ students for PDM rallies “after being rejected by the people for inciting violence and chaos”. “It is unfortunate that PDM is using seminary students for political purposes,” he added.

The chief minister’s aide on information said “failed rallies” of the PDM in various cities had “exposed them” as people had rejected narrative of the opposition parties.