NOWSHERA: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said here Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement about liberal Pakistan was aimed at appeasing the United States and other Western countries. He was speaking at the condolence reference for renowned religious scholar and Sheikhul Hadith Maulana Dr Sher Ali Shah here. The JUI-F chief said Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam and on the basis of the “Two-Nation Theory”. He also came down hard on the writers and columnists for writing columns and articles in favour of liberal Pakistan. Maulana Fazlur Rahman said President Mamnoon Hussain had asked religious scholars to declare interest on the loans for the poor as legitimate. “Interest is un-Islamic and haram (forbidden). It is akin to waging war against Almighty Allah and his Prophet Muhammad (SAW),” he added. “Muslims are being fed haram food in the guise of imported food items,” he lamented. He said the JUI-F had moved a resolution in the National Assembly about the imported food items, its quality and ingredients used in the edibles. He said the JUI move prompted the government to set up the Halal Food Authority. He alleged that the government tried to pass the law for establishment of the authority in a rush and didn’t take his party into confidence about the bill. “We blocked the passage of the law, forcing the government to start consultation about the proposed law and setting up of the authority,” he added. The JUI-F chief said the US and other countries were sponsoring terrorism and violence in the Islamic countries across the globe to exploit their resources. “The US has pushed the Islamic countries into chaos and started an unending war in Muslim dominated regions,” he added. He said that bloodshed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya and Yemen were part of the conspiracy to disintegrate these states. “The Muslims across the globe are suffering due to lack of vision of their rulers,” he added. He paid rich tributes to late Dr Sher Ali Shah for his services for Islam and peace and said he was man of deeds. Criticising the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for being part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, he said the JI was not doing any service to Islam by supporting the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government. “The JI is supporting the PTI to enjoy the luxuries of power. Had the JI extended support to us for forming government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we would have been given it the same portfolio,” he added.
