Political disunity: ANP’s hopes for joint terrorism strategy come crashing down
JUI-F, JI refuse to participate in all-parties conference.
“If the ANP thinks it will get a clean chit on past five years by calling an APC or by getting the support of JUI-F, it is mistaken– we will not be a part of such an effort," says Fazl. PHOTO: INP/FILE
PESHAWAR:
Contrary to the Awami National Party’s (ANP) claims, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have refused to participate in ANP’s all-parties conference (APC) on terrorism.
The ANP had proposed an APC in a bid to form cross-party policy against militancy and to restore peace in the region. In a statement to the press on January 11, ANP Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, JUI-F and JI had all agreed to participate in the conference.
However on Sunday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party will not attend the APC.
“If the ANP thinks it will get a clean chit on the past five years by calling an APC or by getting the support of the JUI-F, it is mistaken– we will not be a part of such an effort. Thanks to the ANP’s policies, the blood of countless of innocents has been spilled,” Fazl said, while speaking to journalists at a condolence reference for late Qazi Hussain Ahmad at Nishtar Hall.
“The JUI-F has not yet received an official invitation from the ANP leadership to participate in the APC and even if we get an invitation, we will not participate,” JUI-F provincial spokesperson Abdul Jalil Jan told The Express Tribune.
“In the past, the ANP has ignored several proposals by us to form a unilateral strategy to solve the conflict through peaceful means. Now when general polls are around the corner, the party is seeking our support to get political advantage,” said Jan.
Fazl also took the opportunity to label the imposition of Governor Rule in Balochistan ‘an undemocratic move’. Lawlessness is at its peak in the country, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where innocent people are being killed daily, but the government has not imposed Governor Rule in the province, said the JUI-F chief.
At the condolence reference, JI General Secretary Liaqat Baloch said “JI has proposed a grand alliance of opposition parties on a one-point agenda – the continuity of the democratic process and timely elections in the country.”
He also called Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march a ‘staged drama’ which aimed to derail democracy.
Later at a meeting held at JI’s central provincial office, provincial spokesperson Israrullah Khan issued a formal statement which confirmed the JI will not participate in the proposed meeting.
Khan said that after witnessing the brutal use of force on protesters outside the Governor House on the orders of the provincial government, JI was convinced that the ANP is “still furthering US agenda” in the region. The meeting was presided over by JI provincial chief Professor Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2013.
Contrary to the Awami National Party’s (ANP) claims, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have refused to participate in ANP’s all-parties conference (APC) on terrorism.
The ANP had proposed an APC in a bid to form cross-party policy against militancy and to restore peace in the region. In a statement to the press on January 11, ANP Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, JUI-F and JI had all agreed to participate in the conference.
However on Sunday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party will not attend the APC.
“If the ANP thinks it will get a clean chit on the past five years by calling an APC or by getting the support of the JUI-F, it is mistaken– we will not be a part of such an effort. Thanks to the ANP’s policies, the blood of countless of innocents has been spilled,” Fazl said, while speaking to journalists at a condolence reference for late Qazi Hussain Ahmad at Nishtar Hall.
“The JUI-F has not yet received an official invitation from the ANP leadership to participate in the APC and even if we get an invitation, we will not participate,” JUI-F provincial spokesperson Abdul Jalil Jan told The Express Tribune.
“In the past, the ANP has ignored several proposals by us to form a unilateral strategy to solve the conflict through peaceful means. Now when general polls are around the corner, the party is seeking our support to get political advantage,” said Jan.
Fazl also took the opportunity to label the imposition of Governor Rule in Balochistan ‘an undemocratic move’. Lawlessness is at its peak in the country, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where innocent people are being killed daily, but the government has not imposed Governor Rule in the province, said the JUI-F chief.
At the condolence reference, JI General Secretary Liaqat Baloch said “JI has proposed a grand alliance of opposition parties on a one-point agenda – the continuity of the democratic process and timely elections in the country.”
He also called Dr Tahirul Qadri’s long march a ‘staged drama’ which aimed to derail democracy.
Later at a meeting held at JI’s central provincial office, provincial spokesperson Israrullah Khan issued a formal statement which confirmed the JI will not participate in the proposed meeting.
Khan said that after witnessing the brutal use of force on protesters outside the Governor House on the orders of the provincial government, JI was convinced that the ANP is “still furthering US agenda” in the region. The meeting was presided over by JI provincial chief Professor Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2013.