PML-N, PPP not to take part in Fazl’s march: Rashid

Minister asks JUI-F chief to condemn Deoband’s announcement it supports Modi’s Kashmir move

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid has claimed that none of the two major opposition parties – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – will participate in the Azadi March planned by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman against the government.

“Fazl is gathering support of seminary students in the name of the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) but the PML-N and the PPP would never support  his anti-democratic moves,” Rashid said on Wednesday while talking to a private news channel.

The minister said the present situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) is critical and all political parties need to play their due role for exposing Indian brutalities against innocent Kashmiris.
The IOK is under continuous siege and curfew since August 4, a day before New Delhi announced annulling a constitutional provision that gave special status to the disputed territory.

PTI govt an existential threat for country: Fazl

Rashid urged Fazl to condemn Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind’s announcement to support Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's IOK move that he said is aimed at ethnic cleansing of Kashmiris. Fazl’s party is historically an offshoot of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind that represents the Deobandi school of thought.

Rashid said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led government has raised the Kashmir issue at all international forums and called for settlement of the crisis in accordance with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions as it is a nuclear flashpoint in South Asia.

PBC assures JUI-F of legal aid for upcoming march

“The UNSC has discussed Kashmir dispute after 50 years due to strong foreign policy of the government,” he said, reiterating that Pakistan would continue its diplomatic and moral support for Kashmiri people till attainment of their basic right to self-determination.

The minister said the PTI government is strengthening day by day as it has put the country on the road to stability.  He said the government is not pressurised by protest calls of the opposition parties that want to stop accountability process against their leaders.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan is committed to recovering the national wealth from corrupt opposition leaders who looted the national exchequer during their tenures,” he said.

A delegation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) which recently visited Pakistan has expressed satisfaction over the economical polices of the government, he added.