Fazlur Rehman confident about support in DI Khan.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution are essential to the electoral process, said chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman in a public address on Wednesday.
Speaking in Muryali, Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Fazl said: “Those who have objections to the said articles should change it through the proper process and make necessary amendments.”
He added, however, that returning officers have asked “strange questions” from candidates, to which they themselves might not know the answers. Rehman said that he himself would never give a returning officer the right to decide upon how patriotic he is for Pakistan.
Commenting on the scrutiny process for nomination papers, Fazl said that those people who accuse religious scholars of not being able to recite verses from the Holy Quran or “Kalmahs” are only trying to bring a bad name to them.
A local newspaper in DI Khan had reported recently that Rehman’s own brother Maulana Latifur Rehman had been unable to recite the sixth Kalmah when his papers were being scrutinised. Latifur Rehman rejected these allegations saying he would go to court against the journalist who had reported the news. Latifur Rehman is contesting elections from PK-66, DI Khan.
“You may not be financially rich, but your ideas are. You should only vote for those who take decisions in the interest of the country,” Fazl said in his address. He added that he is confident of his people that they will only support him as now JUI-F is the most popular party in DI Khan.
Fazl is due to contest for three seats – NA-24 (DI Khan), NA-25 (DI Khan-cum-Tank) and NA-27 (Lakki Marwat).
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2013.
COMMENTS (4)
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@Saleem: I don't see any liberal rabids attacking jui chief over his comments. Had.this been imran khan, the gloves would have been off. 62 & 63 have allowed illiterate maulvis to take Pakistan hostage.
Indeed article 62 & 63 are vital but the way ECP executed it was pathetic. The idea was to weed out crook politicians and in that it failed miserably.
In fact, the use of 62 and 63 is the epitome of what is irrelevant to the electoral process. Sad that Maulana doesn't seem to believe so. We don't need RO's to morally vet candidates; that is the job of the people. They should have limited their involvement to the actions of the candidates such as their failure to pay taxes, bills and analysing convictions in criminal cases.
Pathetic...!