ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday conceded retreat but tried to gave an impression as if he had bogged down the government as he announced that he had decided not to end movement against government but will get re-energised to lounch a fresh assault. “Today wo locked down Islamabad but next time we will lock down the whole country”, Fazl said while addressing the gathering of his followers at the Dharna venue.
“They are asking us to go and file complaints with the election commission,” he said. “Election Commission is even more helpless than us,” he added. He said that if the election commission was not so helpless, such a large crowd wouldn’t t have assembled in Islamabad.
“We have decided not to go to any court or election commission,” he said. “Only a parliamentary committee will decide about rigging.”
Fazl said that a case of the PTI s foreign funding was being heard by the Election Commission since the past five years but no verdict had been given on it. “If it couldn’t decide about the foreign funding case then what decision can the ECP give on other matters?,” he questioned. “These rulers will have to go,” he said. “You will have to give these people the right to vote.” Fazl said that D-Chowk was quite a small place for such a gathering.
“H-9 is an open space–D-Chowk is quite small for a gathering like this,” he said. “Whatever decision we make, we will do so with consensus with all opposition parties,” he said.
Fazl said that today the entire city had been closed down but he could shut down the country as well. “We will shut down the entire country as well and continue our war,” he said. He asked the participants to trust their leadership as it will take best decision for them.
Earlier, the opposition’s Rehbar Committee had recommended a plan to shift the protest venue to D-Chowk, resignation of opposition members of the National Assembly, blocking highways and indefinite shutter-down strike to cripple functioning of the federal government.
Fazl gave PM Khan two days to resign or else he said: “We will be forced to think of another strategy”. Fazl, while welcoming the leaders of political parties in Azadi March, said they [the protesters] would not be able to exercise patience after two days. The JUI-F chief said this was not a gathering of any single political party but a gathering of whole nation, adding that the nation has stood against the government on one platform. He further said: “We do not accept results of 2018 general elections.” On Saturday, the JUI-F chief vowed to topple the ruling regime and run the country.
Addressing the participants of the Islamabad sit-in, he said that writ of the incumbent government has ended and now “we will run the country”. He said: “We will provide satisfaction and protection to the country.” Fazl asked the government to “step down and don’t test our patience”. He vowed to continue protest until the toppling of the government.
On the other hand, the government while tightening the security arrangements, blocked the roads leading to the Red Zone. Around 8000 police personnel have been deployed from Zero Point to Red Zone and tear gas canisters, Shields and other items have been provided.
