JUI-F mulls ‘Plan B’ as March enters third week
DM Monitoring
ISLAMABAD: Despite the Azadi March being in its second week Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman remains committed in seeking the prime minister’s resignation, saying that anything less than the PM’s resignation will be unacceptable to him. Talking in a tv programme, Maulana said that he could change his strategy to force Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down from his office.
The JUI-F chief, however, added that a solution equivalent to the resignation could also be considered, without elaborating on what that might be.
He said that his party has put an end to fear of the government as well as the impression that things would happen just as Imran Khan would want.
The Maulana said that his protest has also quashed the impression that nobody can raise a voice against the government.
Dispelling the notion that he was seeking a face-saving conclusion to end his protest, he said it was the government which needs a way out.
Responding to a question, the JUI-F chief said that he would be glad if his allied parties could benefit from the pressure he has mounted on the government.
Agencies add: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) central leadership met on Monday to discuss ‘Plan B’ for the Azadi March as the anti-government drive enters third week.
A meeting of the provincial and district leadership of the party met at the residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss the recommendations put forward by other opposition parties. As the anti-government march entered third week today, the JUI-F chief vowed to continue the fight against the incumbent “incompetent” government.
Fazl said that even as he speaks, the opposition parties are holding discussions for the next course of action. “We will move forward after deliberations between leaders,” he said. He has also decried the promises made by the government to the erstwhile Fata region.
The JUI-F chief said, “Even if it is acknowledged that in Punjab and Balochistan, it was the PML-N’s government at the time, and in Sindh in was the PPP’s government, and even if it is argued that these provinces did not agree to give their share to Fata in the past, today, the PTI has a government in three provinces.”
“Why are they then not willing to give their share?” he asked, demanding an explanation from the government.
Earlier, Pashtunkhuwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai also met the JUI-F chief to discuss the future course of action on Azadi March.
Meanwhile, members of Ansarul Islam, the volunteer group of the JUI-F, took positions at the place of Azadi march in Islamabad. Instructions were given to Ansarul Islam to take out a rally from the sit-in site.
Thousands of protesters have converged on Pakistan’s federal capital, under the banner of ‘Azadi March’, seeking to de-seat Prime Minister Imran Khan. The caravan, which set off from Sindh on October 27, reached Islamabad on October 31.
