Fazl doubts polls in terror-hit provinces

JUI-F chief calls for secure environment for elections

ISLAMABAD:

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday raised questions over the holding of peaceful elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan amid the deteriorating security situation in the two provinces. In the wake of JUI-F activists losing their lives in terrorist attacks, Fazl emphasised the need for a secure environment for the next general elections.

He questioned the feasibility of holding the elections in K-P districts including Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, and Lakki Marwat – describing them as plagued by terrorism. “Our activists are being martyred. Two provinces [K-P and Balochistan] are in the grip of terrorism, there are no police personnel in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Lakki Marwat [districts]. How the elections can be held in this situation?” Fazl asked.

“We are ready for the elections, but we should be given an environment suitable for holding them. Everything is fine in Lahore, but everything should be fine on our side too,” he added. The JUI-F chief confirmed his party’s continued partnership and seat adjustments with the PML-N for the upcoming elections. “We have run a movement together with the PML-N.

We want to maintain the relationship with the [party] and make seat adjustments with them. We want to follow principles and continue our alliance with the PML-N,” he continued. When asked about the prospects of the PTI in the next general elections, Fazl claimed that a recent meeting had ‘exposed’ the true nature of that party.

He described the PTI as a “deflated balloon” made out of “forced loyalty and manipulation”. “The PTI was a bubble that was inflated. Now that bubble has burst. The people, whose loyalties were changing, were forced to join the PTI. Those who had become part of the PTI are themselves admitting that they were coerced into joining that party,” he maintained.

Fazl also announced a major gathering of Wafaqul Madaris at Islamabad’s Convention Centre on Wednesday (today) to address issues related to the madrasas system. He called for removing obstacles facing the seminaries and chalking out rules for their registration.
In 2019, Pakistan agreed on a plan to overhaul instructions at madrasas to bring them closer into line with conventional schools and curb extremist teaching,

The plan was aimed at addressing longstanding concerns that the roughly 30,000 madrasas in the country provided a haven for extremist teaching with a rigid curriculum based around religious studies that failed to prepare students for employment after they graduated. Speaking at a conference in August this year, Farhatullah Babar, a PPP stalwart and former senator, said that quality education should be a priority of the political parties to inculcate pluralistic values in children.

He added that measures to transform schools into religious seminaries with a single national curriculum and induction of madrassa graduates as teachers must be revisited.

(With input from Reuters)

 

 

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