Fazl mulls postponing long march

PML-N asks JUI-F chief to delay rally for effective results

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday said he would soon announce his decision as to whether his anti-government 'Azadi March' would be held in October or November.

His announcement came after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) presented the recommendations of its central executive committee to the JUI-F chief.

"Whether the long march will be held in October or November, you will find out soon," Fazl, accompanied by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, told the media.

Iqbal told reporters that his party had asked Fazl to postpone the long march so that it could be coordinated in a better manner and achieve effective results. "We will get better results if we move forward with a joint strategy," he said.

"We have presented the recommendations of our party's central executive committee to Maulana sahib. The PML-N has already made its decision to participate in the long march."

Iqbal said the PML-N, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and other opposition parties were on the same page that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had failed to deliver in the last one year.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, he added, would also inform the party's incarcerated supremo, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, about the central executive committee's recommendations. "He [Nawaz] will make the final decision."

Iqbal said the country's economy was deteriorating so rapidly that there would be a serious threat to national security next year.

"The government's anti-people policies now stand exposed. The increase in the prices of electricity and gas is in front of us," he added.

Iqbal said the country's leading businessmen were meeting the army chief to inform him about the losses they were suffering. "This is extremely worrying. If businessmen have to approach the army chief for their grievances, we need to think about where we are heading. If the government shifts the burden of its failure onto the military leadership, how will the country run?"

The PML-N leader said the continuous cabinet reshuffles would not help matters and the real problem was a vindictive and unsuccessful prime minister.

"[Prime Minister] Imran Khan is not interested in running the country. He only wants to put his political opponents behind bars and harass them through the National Accountability Bureau [NAB]," he maintained.

The PML-N leader said the opposition was neither seeking any NRO from the prime minister, nor was he in a position to give one.

"He [the prime minister] can put us all in jail if he wants to," he added.

Iqbal said India took a major step of abolishing the special status of occupied Kashmir but the prime minister continued with his NRO mantra. "Repeating the NRO lines over and over again won't solve the problems."

The JUI-F chief told the media that the country's economy was in the doldrums and the common man was unable to make ends meet because of the rising inflation. "The youth is upset. Disappointed traders are leaving the country taking along capital with them. People from all walks of life in the country are suffering," he noted.

Fazl said contrary to claims, it was the government that was using the 'religion card' to counter his 'Azadi March'.

"He [prime minister] criticises the West for banning hijab but suspends the ban on hijab in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he tells the world about Namoos-e-Risalat but releases a person accused of committing blasphemy and sends her abroad."

The JUI-F chief also accused the prime minister of setting free a member of the Ahmadi community and sending him to US President Donald Trump.

He maintained that PM Imran had sold off Kashmir in connivance with the international community.

"No country talks about starting a nuclear war. But Imran Khan by hurling the threat of a nuclear war has benefitted India. His speech at the UN General Assembly has put our nuclear assets at risk," he added.

The JUI-F chief noted that Muslim countries did not even vote for presenting a resolution on Kashmir in the Human Rights Council. "The Muslim countries sympathise with Pakistan but they too are aware of the Kashmir deal."