Covert political talks in Dubai draw Fazl’s ire

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should have taken into confidence other parties that are part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) about its meeting with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Dubai.

“The PDM parties are wondering why the PML-N has not taken them into confidence so far about the Dubai moot,” Fazl said on Sunday while talking to some senior reporters in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) capital.

According to media reports, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif met PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Dubai on June 27 to allegedly discuss a number of issues, including the date for the next general elections and possible seat adjustments.

These reports claimed that the PPP and the PML-N top leaders also discussed the names for the caretaker PM, with some media reports, citing anonymous sources, claiming that the parties even reached an agreement on a name.

Earlier, on July 2, a JUI-F leader had played down the meeting, claiming that there was nothing out of the ordinary about these huddles. However, Fazl on Sunday openly expressed his disappointment at not being taken into confidence regarding the huddle.

“The Dubai talks were not sudden. They were planned. So everyone should have been taken into confidence. The PPP is not a part of the PDM; therefore, we cannot ask them about the Dubai talks,” he added.

Fazl heads the PDM, a multi-party alliance formed in September 2020 with the avowed aim to dislodge the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government at the Centre.

The second biggest party in the alliance, the PPP, however, parted ways with the alliance in April 2021. However, the PPP and the PDM later joined hands again and managed to topple the PTI government in April 2022 through a no-trust motion.

The PPP is now part of the PML-N led ruling coalition which is often erroneously called the PDM government. Talking with reference to the PDM’s future, Fazl said it was a movement launched against the PTI government and now it was no longer needed.

Fazl said the upcoming elections would be held on time and caretaker governments would be installed at the Centre and two other provinces—Sindh and Balochistan—in a month. The caretaker governments were already in place in Punjab and K-P provinces.

He said the economy had started showing signs of improvements. “Friendly countries have taken the first step by offering help; the next step will be investment,” he said.

The JUI-F chief criticised the PTI chief over his alleged hypocritical behaviour. “On one hand, he reviles the United States but on the other hand, he is buddies with it. It is strange that the international community which insults the Holy Quran is also supporting him.

“The American stooge waved a fake piece of paper in rallies and tried to play the victim card,” he said in a reference to the alleged cypher that the PTI chief had shown at a public rally to support his claim that his government was toppled on the desire of the US.

Fazl hoped that the nation would stay away from the PTI chief in the upcoming general elections. The JUI-F chief said after the 2018 polls, his party did not want to take oath in view of massive rigging but “we had to become part of the National Assembly due to other opposition parties”. He said many problems emerged but the JUI-F chief stood steadfast.

He said his party did not want to remove the PTI from power but again it had to go with other parties. “We have come together for national unity this time; otherwise our position is clear,” Fazl said. "There can be disagreement with personalities but not the army as an institution," he added.