Fazl seeks consensus on constitutional tweaks

ISLAMABAD:

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman called on Wednesday for consensus on constitutional amendment, which served the broader national interest, rather than the interest of an individual.

Talking to senior journalists, Maulana Fazl supported the establishment of a constitutional court in the country. On the extension issue, however, he made it clear that it should not be based on one person's interest. Any extension should be need-based," he said.

Fazl expressed his desire that the constitutional amendments should be carried out in the broader national interest beyond the interests of an individual. He said he wished the amendments were approved by consensus.

The JUI-F chief said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had only asked them to "support us". He said that he was not in favour of any amendment to benefit a single person. He cited lawyers movement for the restoration of former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. "Everyone fought for Iftikhar Chaudhary but what he did is in front of everyone," he said.

Speaking about the law and order situation, Fazl said that at present the country's two provinces were under the control of armed groups. Nationalists from one province and the religious parties from the other were expelled through rigging.

"The writ of state has dissipated in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa," the JUI-F chief stated. He criticised the role of institutions in the election process and warned: "It cannot be considered as a sign keeping the country united."