Fazl sticks to his guns on PM Imran's resignation

JUI-F chief says negotiating team should bring along PM's resignation letter when meeting Rahbar Committee

SUKKUR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday hinted that despite the talks between the joint opposition's Rahbar Committee and the government's negotiating team on Friday, his party was unlikely to roll back its plan to stage its 'Azadi march' on October 31.

"The Rahbar Committee will decide whether we will go ahead with the Azadi march or not," he said at a news conference in Sukkur.

However, he added: "They [the government's negotiating team] should bring the prime minister's resignation letter along with them to the meeting."

The JUI-F chief said after the Rahbar Committee's meeting with the negotiating team, opposition parties would discuss the matter before giving a response to the government.

"The Rahbar Committee is willing to meet the government team and hold talks. But what can you expect from a team that is headed by [Defence Minister] Pervez Khattak? His attitude is not fit for talks."

Fazl said the government would be unable to stop the marchers by digging trenches around the federal capital and placing containers.

He added that the marchers would easily overcome these obstacles.

The JUI-F chief maintained that although the government had conditionally permitted the opposition to hold the 'Azadi march', "veiled threats" were still being received.

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He added that people from all walks of life across the country wanted to participate in the march because they could no longer tolerate the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

"All opposition parties agree that this government has come to power through rigging and should not be allowed to continue anymore."

Fazl said the opposition would express solidarity with Kashmiris by holding special programmes on October 27, the international Kashmir Day.

The government's negotiating committee headed by Khattak includes National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, PTI leader Asad Umar, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri.

Khattak and Sanjrani met Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi at the latter's residence in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the situation. Shujaat said the prevailing situation of the country did now allow for a confrontation and politics of agitation should be avoided. He added that his party would play a reconciliatory role between the government and the opposition.

Addressing a news conference, Khattak said the government had offered to the JUI-F that it could hold the rally in the federal capital if it remained within constitutional limits.

"The opposition has requested us to not place hurdles in the march's way and we have told them to come to Islamabad and hold the rally within the ambit of law," he said, accompanied by Asad Umar and Information Technology Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

The added the government would not allow the marchers to flout the apex court's decision on staging sit-ins in Islamabad.

Khattak said no party had demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan's resignation during their meetings with the government's team. "They [the opposition] asked us to remove containers from Islamabad which the government has done.

Defending the PTI's 2014 sit-in, the minister said the party had launched the protest in Islamabad after it had pursued and exhausted all democratic options about its claim of rigging in the 2013 general elections.

The joint opposition's Rahbar Committee, which is headed by the JUI-F's Akram Durrani, will first hold its own meeting on Friday and then meet with the government team.

The government team has already rejected the opposition's demand for the prime minister's resignation while the Rahbar Committee has announced it would hold talks with the government if it promised not to stop the 'Azadi march'.

With additional input from APP