ANP chooses JUI-F corner for ‘Azadi March’

Asfandyar promises to take up the mantle if Maulana Fazl, other party leaders are arrested

PESHAWAR: Once bitter rivals, Awami National Party’s (ANP) Asfandyar Wali Khan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday shook hands as the former agreed to back the latter’s ‘Azadi March’ against the incumbent government.

This was decided as JUI-F chief met his ANP counterpart at Wali Bagh in Charsadah with senior officials of both parties in attendance.

Later, during a joint news conference, Asfandyar said the stance of his party regarding the October 31 march orchestrated by the JUI-F was clear and that his party will wholeheartedly support the gathering in Islamabad.

He warned that ANP will ‘come out in the field’ if the government reacts adversely.

“Our reaction will be intense and could even spiral out of our control,” Asfandyar said.

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He continued that if the JUI-F chief is rendered indisposed owing to arrest by October 31, the ANP will take up the mantle and lead the ‘Azadi March’.

”We are used to [police] batons and jails and are ready for them once again,” the ANP chief said.

The JUI-F chief thanked ANP for its support, adding that he was satisfied in the knowledge that almost all political parties, either directly or indirectly, supporting the march.

“Stopping us will be like stopping a flood,” he stated, adding that the government should work towards a solution rather than fanning flames.

Rehman explained that their stance was the same as it was after the July 25, 2018, general elections that fresh elections should be held in the country.

“The government’s ineligibility and ruined economy have been included [in our list of demands] now,” the JUI-F chief said, lamenting that the country is currently sinking.

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He added that consultations with other political parties are currently underway while a meeting of their policy committee is scheduled for Wednesday in which recommendations from political parties would be reviewed. Another meeting will be convened on October 24.

“We will lead the country out of the dead-end it finds itself at. Dialogues are my problem, we will see [about negotiations] when the time comes,” Rehman said, reiterating that they are peaceful political parties.

When dictators General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf took power, they presented themselves as saviours of the nation, Rehman said, adding that since the current leaders are responsible for the poor situation, they cannot be saviours.

“Imran’s sit-in was illicit while ours is against an illicit government,” he declared, adding that if the ‘aliens’ made a mistake, they should own up to it.

The JUI-F chief also slammed the government’s diplomatic efforts on Kashmir, noting that Prime Minister Imran threatening atomic war created concern in the world about the country’s nuclear assets.

“None of the Muslim countries supported us on the Kashmir issue in the United Nations,” he lamented.

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“Imran is mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia but not between Jehangir Tareen and Shah Mahmood Qureshi,” he added.

Aimal spells out ANP’s plan

Earlier in the day, ANP’s Provincial President Aimal Wali Khan announced that while his party supports the ‘Azadi March’, they will only join the march in the second phase when the march has reached the federal capital.

Addressing a gathering in Peshawar to welcome former Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Sardar Khan to the party, Aimal said that in the first phase, the party will seek answers from the provincial government if the workers are stopped.

If their workers are arrested, Aimal said that they will then proceed to shut down the province.

Their ‘Plan B’, he said, will be implemented if the government arrests the party’s leadership while the command will be handed over to their second-tier leadership.