JUI-F tells leaders to quit advisory council

Party sets three-day deadline for members to leave K-P council or face expulsion

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chapter has issued show-cause notices to its members serving on the provincial advisory council, directing them to resign within three days or face suspension of their party membership.

The party also rejected the imposition of governor's rule and an emergency in the province, describing the move as an undemocratic step. It expressed concern over what it termed irresponsible and controversial remarks by the provincial information adviser linking religious seminaries to terrorism.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the JUI-F provincial executive committee held at the party's provincial secretariat, Mufti Mahmood Centre, in Peshawar, under the chairmanship of provincial chief Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman.

Provincial General Secretary Senator Maulana Attaul Haq Darvesh briefed the committee on decisions taken at a recent meeting of the party's central Shura. Senator Attaur Rehman also discussed the prevailing political tensions, the party's efforts to mediate between the opposition and the ruling party, and the situation arising from the proposed imposition of governor's rule and an emergency.

According to a statement issued by the JUI-F media cell, the provincial executive committee termed the federal government's decision regarding governor's rule and an emergency in K-P a negation of democratic principles.

The meeting rejected the establishment of the advisory council and directed JUI-F members who had not yet resigned to step down within three days. Failure to comply would result in their party membership being considered suspended, the statement said.

The committee also expressed serious concern over what it described as irresponsible remarks by the provincial information adviser about religious seminaries. It maintained that linking seminaries to terrorism was contrary to facts and deeply regrettable.

Religious seminaries, the party said, were centres of peace, love and tolerance and had consistently supported the state in its fight against terrorism. Hundreds of religious scholars had themselves fallen victim to terrorism and sacrificed their lives, it added.

The meeting described the information adviser's remarks as frivolous and urged him to exercise responsibility, restraint and regard for facts while commenting on national issues. It said the remarks had sparked resentment among religious circles and amounted to an attempt to undermine the sacrifices of those who had lost their lives in the fight against terrorism.

The committee also deplored what it called a smear campaign against the JUI-F and its chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, allegedly conducted on social media by certain groups and paid vloggers. It said fabricated narratives could not undermine the party leadership's role and principled political stance.

The party's media team had previously countered such narratives and would continue responding to what it described as misleading propaganda, the statement added.