Fazl asks establishment to hold fresh polls

Encourages Sindh populace to rally for their rights

KARACHI:

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman has asked the establishment to fix the country and hold fresh elections, warning that otherwise a sea of people will take to the streets.

“The public is prepared to come out on the streets. Conduct elections again. If the people do not accept us, then we will accept the public's decision,” Fazl said while addressing a rally in Sindh’s provincial capital on Thursday.

The JUI-F chief reiterated his claim that February 8 general elections were massively rigged. “In the elections, the Sindh Assembly as well as the Presidency, and other assemblies were sold,” he said.
Fazl said his party is striving for a free, self-reliant, dignified, and truly Islamic Pakistan.

He claimed that the JUI-F was punished and was not allowed to enter assemblies for opposing Israel, supporting Hamas, and striving to improve relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Now our struggle will continue on the streets until we get our rights,” he added.

The JUI-F chief also criticized the Supreme Court of Pakistan for allegedly giving relief to the Qadiani community in disregard of the Constitution. He said the people of Sindh will have to come into the arena to protect their own rights and save their islands.

Fazl was referring to some islands near Karachi from where the indigenous local population is allegedly being forcefully removed. The Maulana said if the establishment thinks that these people will get tired, they are mistaken. He said since 2018, his party has been running a movement against electoral fraud.

He said the Constitution of Pakistan states that Islam is the state religion of Pakistan, and legislation against Islamic principles cannot be made.

But since the establishment of Pakistan, assemblies have been filled with people who are only interested in personal gains and have no knowledge about Islam.

“This is why even after 75 years, people's thirst for an Islamic system remains unquenched. People want a system according to the Constitution and Islam,” he said.

He said a large number of people have participated in the rally which shows that the assemblies formed through elections are fake. Fazl said there is no significance of democratic struggle in this country.

“You need the support of the establishment, and elections have been held under its auspices. The decisions are made by the establishment.” He said in the past, the JUI-F did not support the military operations that were undertaken in the tribal areas to stem the tide of militancy.

“We had predicted that such military operations would not be successful. Due to the wrong strategy over time, the tribes suffered losses and no positive results were obtained,” he added.

He asked the powers that be if their strategy to launch operations in various areas of the country did not backfire. “Militancy is now a huge threat despite all these military operations.”

The JUI-F chief was head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) which launched a campaign against the PTI’s government and later managed to oust it through a vote of no confidence.

The JUI-F was part of the last PML-N led coalition government. However, in the February 8, 2024 general elections the party performed poorly.

Fazl later accused the establishment of deliberately rigging the polls to stop his party from reaching assemblies and later announced a countrywide movement against the PML-N led “fake government.”