By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday chaired a meeting of spokespersons for the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to discuss Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s anti-government Azadi March. According to sources, the participants were of the opinion that Maulana Fazlur Rehman should not change Azadi March date. He must come to Islamabad so that nation could see how JUI-F chief is playing to achieve his political goals.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that Maulana Fazlur Rehman is trying to save his sinking political career. The government is introducing reforms in madrassas which has worried Maulana the most. After these reforms, madrassa students will not be used for such acts. On Thursday, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that the party would begin its anti-government ‘Azadi March’ or Freedom March on October 27.
The announcement by Fazlur Rehman has shaken up the country’s dormant political scene overnight forcing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government to devise a counter strategy against the potential political challenge.
“The current government is the result of a fake election and fake results,” Fazl said during a press conference. He said that all opposition parties had rejected the July 25, 2018 election results and had called for fresh elections. “In this regard, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal have carried out 15 ‘million marches’ in the country to raise awareness among the people,” he said. In July, Fazlur Rehman had demanded Imran Khan to step down or be ready for a long march to Islamabad. Now he is all set to stage a sit-in on the same place where Imran Khan had demonstrated for more than 120 days against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2014.
Fazlur was earlier approached by leaders of the two major opposition parties — Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan people’s Party (PPP) — and requested to postpone dates for sit-in plan and Azadi March till November, but Fazlur Rehman has made it clear it was not his individual decision but that of his party’s Central Working Committee and he was obliged to stand by that decision.
