Step down or face our march, Fazl warns govt

JUI-F chief addresses rally in Quetta, demands re-elections

QUETTA: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday warned Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet that if it they did not step down, he would march on the federal capital with a massive number of 1.5 million protesters.

“It would be better if the rulers voluntarily quit. If they don’t we will march on Islamabad and won’t call off our movement until they resign,” the JUI-F chief said while addressing a large rally in Quetta.

“We did not accept the results of last year’s general elections as they were rigged. We want re-elections in the country and the political and religious parties will decide when they will be held.”

Thousands of JUI-F activists participated in the party’s rally in Quetta held at Abdul Sattar Edhi Chowk with strict security measures in place by the district administration.

Senior party leaders including JUI-F Balochistan chief MNA Maulana Abdul Wassay, Central General Secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Advocate Malik Sikandar and Maulana Hafiz Hussain Ahmed were present at the gathering.

“The public’s mandate was stolen on July 25 last year because some powers wanted to plant the people they backed in in the national and provincial assemblies,” Fazl said.

“After staging 14 successful million marches across the country, we have arrived in Quetta today and the sea of people I see before me shows what the people of Pakistan want,” he added.

Speaking on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent meeting with US President Donald Trump, Fazl said the country was being pushed into American slavery again.

“We want to make it clear that we will confront the PTI government’s flawed policies.”

The JUI-F chief said the million march in Peshawar was a success but the PTI government accused his party of making seminary students participate in the event.

“The country has decided to include seminary students into the mainstream, but at the same they are being criticised and not being given the right to vote or participate in political gatherings,” he maintained.

Speaking on the budget for the ongoing fiscal year, Fazl said it lacked vision for development and progress.

“The devaluation of rupee has destroyed the economy and the flawed policies of the current regime have wiped out opportunities of financial assistance by friendly countries.”