On campaign trail, Fazl warms up to the US

Says JUI-F will turn Pakistan into Islamic welfare state.

LAHORE: Contrary to his trademark anti-American rhetoric, influential politico-religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Sunday that he did not oppose diplomatic relations with the United States.

“We believe in relations based on equality … not a master-and-slave relationship,” he said while addressing a huge crowd of supporters at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore.

Maulana Fazl also sought to disassociate his party – the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman faction) – from violent extremism and Islamic militancy. He conceded that his party disfavoured some of the controversial policies of the Unites States, but added that it has never adopted a violent approach.

“If the US reviews its policies towards other countries, the JUI-F will welcome it,” he said in a conciliatory tone. “The US should respect our sovereignty and stop imposing its policies on us.” About the insurgency in Afghanistan, he said the JUI-F acknowledged the Afghan people’s right to defend themselves. However, he added that his party would also appreciate all efforts to find a negotiated end to the war.

Unveiling JUI-F’s manifesto, Maulana Fazl said his party wanted to turn Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state. He vowed that if voted to power, the JUI-F would safeguard the rights of the downtrodden class, the labourers, the peasants and religious minorities.

“Every peasant will be given the right of partnership in his landlord’s land … No landlord will be able to dislodge any peasant according to JUI-F’s manifesto,” he added. “I will not let any labourer become a slave.”

The JUI-F chief said that if he was voted to power, he would ensure labour unions had a 50% share in every factory’s board of directors.

“We have introduced the manifesto of Islam … the policies of the US and the West will no longer work in Pakistan,” he said, urging the “Muslim Ummah to stand by him in this struggle”.

About the country’s foreign policy, Fazl said that despite being one of the most important countries in the region, previous governments had been unable to ensure Pakistan reached its true status. He claimed a major shift in Pakistan foreign and internal policy had taken place without the approval of Parliament.

“The Kashmir issue is no longer our priority … Indian forces are stationed along our borders, but we have made domestic terrorism our priority,” he said. He accused all national institutions of remaining oblivious while India built dams on all rivers that irrigate farmlands in Pakistan.

“Our government has been using our own forces against our citizens … instead of becoming a welfare state, we have turned into a security state,” he said.

Fazl claimed that foreign meddling in Pakistan’s internal affairs had increased. “Internationally, we have been projected by the past government as a poor state … There is no shortage of resources, the problem is with their management,” he said.

Maulana Fazl claimed there was not a single ‘clean’ party in the country other than JUI-F. “Not a single politician from the JUI-F is involved in target killing or extortion, or has been pardoned under the National Reconciliation Ordinance,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2013.