Rehbar committee meeting after Ashura: Fazl

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on Thursday announced that opposition parties’ Rehbar committee meeting including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will be held after Ashura.

Fazl expressed his views while chairing a meeting of the small opposition parties at his residence where his proposal for calling the meeting was approved.

The participants of the meeting included PkMAP Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Usman Kakar, NP’s Senator Mir Kabeer, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar, MNA Amir Haider Hoti, JAH’s Sajid Mir, BNP leader Akhtar Mengal and JUP’s Shah Owais.

The opposition parties also backed the JUI-F chief’s suggestion of Charter of Democracy (CoD) between them which would be discussed in the all parties conference (APC).

Speaking to media after the meeting, Fazl demanded fresh and transparent elections and stressed that the institutions should work under the constitution.

“Those opposition parties [which] have met [today] were invited a week ago so that they could exchange their views on the current political situation. The meeting, which had been scheduled earlier, has been held now because of the death of Mir Hasil Bizenjo,” he said.

Fazl observed that PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif had visited him a few days earlier and added that he wanted to take the members of opposition parties into confidence on the development.

He noted that the elections held on July 25, 2018 were a “fraud” and added that the opposition’s Rehbar committee’s meeting would be held soon where the agenda for the APC would be decided.

The JUI-F chief stated that he wanted the supremacy of law in the country and demanded the reconstitution of the election commission.

“In the first phase, meeting of Rehbar committee will be held in which recommendations will be forwarded and agenda for APC will be decided,” he said.

Responding to a question, Fazl negated the impression that there was a split in the opposition and maintained that a procedure for the anti-government movement had to be decided.

He said that Akram Durrani will call the Rehbar committee meeting.