Responding to a question on Imran Khan’s offer to bury the hatchet, JUI-F chief insisted he had no personal quarrel with him. PHOTO: PPI
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said killing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief in a US drone strike has brought talks to a standstill. However, Fazl added, engagement for peace will be pursued.
At a membership drive at the party’s provincial headquarters on Tuesday, Fazl lauded the federal government’s efforts to establish negotiations following the all-parties conference (APC). Various attacks over the past few months in the province dragged down the peace process; there was a lobby in the country against the talks, claimed Fazl. Now the break in pace has come from the Taliban side after the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, something which has dented the Taliban’s trust, he added. According to Fazl, the attack on Mehsud was made with mala fide intent.
Yet efforts will continue – it has been decided, in principle, to not allow the peace process to be further derailed, said the JUI-F chief. He made these comments a day after the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly adopted a resolution demanding the centre stop Nato supplies by November 20 or else K-P will be independent to pursue its own course of action.
Flights of fancy?
The JUI-F chief also cautioned against “solo flights” by political parties in the aftermath of Mehsud’s death.
Responding to a question about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) efforts to block Nato supplies in K-P, Fazl stated all parties should avoid individual action as it is likely to damage national consensus.
Previously the PTI government had scrapped a resolution against drone attacks after the opposition insisted on the inclusion of Nato supplies, but, Fazl continued, now the PTI wants ownership of the issue, which is not right.
The draft of the K-P Assembly’s resolution is based on a JUI-F draft, which they had submitted in the assembly, he claimed.
Responding to a question on Imran Khan’s offer to bury the hatchet, Fazl insisted he had no personal quarrel with him. His party has some concerns regarding the PTI and if these were removed then they had no problem with Imran, shared the JUI-F chief.
Fazl claimed his party has been the largest religious political force of the country and will continue to play its role in politics.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th,2013.
COMMENTS (12)
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Great words from the one and only Maulana Fazlur Rehman. He is why we're a great superpower or something like that.
please please stop these malalafide comments.
Fazal, you dog-lover you, how many of the stray ones did you let starve to death before searching for 72 canines for the Heavenly comfort of that one who died from a drone attack?
@Burjor Rustomji: I say, your comments are right on the mark, there is no doubt what you said.
@Burjor Rustomji:
Primary cause will be the xenophobic tendency of the Pakistani people as nobody who has a proper moral compass would listen to the hate filled rubbish that these cleric's spout.
If Pakistan ever collapses, it will be due to internal forces, not external, it will be due to our very own, clerics, who can whip up a frenzy by their oratory, raising emotions, formenting hate and intolerance. These are the people who pose the greatest danger to Pakistan, not the Indians, not the Americans, not the Jews, not the Kafirs, nor these people or those people, it is our very own indoctrinated people who pose the greatest threat. These are people who created the taliban, who in turn have taken the lives of 40,000 to 50,000 innocent people, caused billions in damages to the country, made Pakistan synonymous with terrorism, for many around the world, both words mean the same. So this is the plain statusquo. We have to wake-up and wake-up very fast.
The JUI-F chief also cautioned against “solo flights” by political parties in the aftermath of Mehsud’s death. . That's code for "don't steal my thunder".
May God rid of these evil and retarded mullahs. Amen.
When is this bearded oaf being martyred ? Can't wait for that day.
Nurtured and brought up by our own domestic homegrown freedom fighters, with funding for friendly Islamic countries, the gentleman is now our Frankenstein. And the source of funding our quagmire. The leadership needs to define now, as to who best serve our interest? Will it be the MIT, Harvards and other Ivy Leageue hosting countries which define modern civilization and the future, or our very own brethren, which take us back to stone ages
Justice brought to Mehsud has directly threatened Fazl's market opportunities. Peace, education & normalcy in KPK/FATA is inversally proportion to Fazl's business.