JUI-F to hold own protests, avoid PTI

Senator Murtaza says party will not align with PTI’s current demos

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza said on Sunday that his party plans to stage its own protests on issues of its choosing but will refrain from participating in demonstrations organised by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Speaking to a private news channel, Senator Murtaza described recent meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari as “social” rather than political.

“There were political conversations definitely, but you could call this more of a social meet than a political one,” he noted.

Murtaza clarified that during these discussions, JUI-F made it clear to PTI the extent of their cooperation.

The meetings, which included PTI leaders such as Senator Shibli Faraz, Lawyer Gohar Khan, and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, were used to delineate the boundaries of their collaboration.

“We have told them some things with clarity as to how far we would go with them and to what end we would not,” he said.

JUI-F’s position remains that while they will engage in protests on their own terms, they will not align with PTI’s current demonstrations.

“The party (JUI-F) would protest on the streets on their issues but, for the time being, they won’t be a party to another party’s protest,” Murtaza affirmed.

Earlier, on August 23, PTI leaders visited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss cooperation on an “issue to issue and agenda to agenda” basis. This was followed by another meeting between the parties.

As tensions increased, both PM Shehbaz and President Asif Ali Zardari made separate visits to Fazl, who had declared a “solo flight” against the government.

Zardari's visit came a day after Fazl reportedly agreed with PTI to formulate a joint strategy, while Shehbaz’s visit aimed to dissuade Fazl from joining any anti-government agitation.