The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has blamed the former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for the soaring inflation, saying it had no role in it as the latter was in the driving seat.
Maulana Amjad Khan told The Express Tribune that the main ministries and the prime minister were of the PML-N, and the JUI-F had only a limited share which was why they could not be blamed for the inflation. However, he was quick to add that prices around the world had skyrocketed and that this phenomenon was not unique to Pakistan.
His remarks came while responding to a question that his party members were saying that the people were holding them (the JUI-F) along with others in the government responsible for the price hikes.
In fact, the JUI-F foreseeing the challenges had proposed early elections but their proposal was shot down by the allies.
Talking about the interaction of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman with some journalists in Lahore wherein he had predicted elections in February, Amjad said that Fazl had said that according to his reading of the situation,n elections could not be delayed beyond February.
Also read PM, JUI-F chief mull providing economic relief to people
He said that the security situation, particularly in erstwhile Fata where his party lost around 73 of its people to a recent suicide blast and 28 of its office bearers to target killings, was disconcerting. Though he said despite the odds, the JUI-F would enter the political arena to move forward with its election campaign.
He said that the JUI-F had already started its spade work for elections and soon would launch its election campaign drive.
Interestingly, earlier in the day while holding a news conference, PML-N leader Javeed Latif, who served as a federal minister without a portfolio, said that all the blame of the misgovernance of the 16-month long government should be equally divided into 11 parties in the coalition government, implying that the PML-N should not be the only party to be held responsible.
Several PPP leaders even during the coalition government’s days shifted the responsibility onto the PML-N, stating that the good and the bad of the government would rest with PML-N owing to their major share and important ministries.
PPP Information Secretary Faisal Kareem Kundi said that the head of the government is prime minister and the responsibility ultimately rests with him.
He said, “We do share the responsibility of the cabinet decision but still the primary responsibility and handling of affairs rests with the concerned minister.” He said that the collective responsibility was a shared burden but the PML-N needed to remind this to its ministers.
Talking to The Express Tribune, PPP leaders Chaudhry Manzoor and former parliamentary leader in Punjab Hasan Murtaza said that the PPP’s responsibility was only limited to its ministries.
They said all the main ministries, including finance, power, interior and defence, were with the PML-N so the PPP could not be held responsible for this fiasco. He said that this principle of how to determine the responsibility of a political party in power was delineated by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal who blamed PPP leader Naveed Qamar for the sugar crises.
MQM leader Mustafa Kamal, however, chided the PPP for abnegating its responsibility, stating that it was an equal shareholder in the power along with the PML-N and they should share equal blame.
However, when asked that did the MQM hold itself equally responsible for the existing state of affairs, he said that the MQM only had a small share in the government and to that extent, they could be held responsible.
He said despite its limited share in power, the MQM went all out to serve the people. He said that the outgoing government could be held responsible for the mess the country was in, as this was an outcome of collective mistakes of several governments, including the PTI’s.
He said that the PTI during its four years had laid land mines and the IMF mess was precisely due to that.
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