With or against govt?: JUI-F to firm up Yemen stance in parliament

Fazl says will respond after listening to govt’s point of view

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday said his party will take a stance over Yemen after listening to the government in the joint session of Parliament scheduled for today (Monday).

Speaking to the media after a parliamentary committee meeting in Islamabad to discuss the Yemen situation, Fazl said: “We have discussed the issue at length and decided that our concrete point of view will come after government’s stance over the issue in the joint session of Parliament.”

He added that Pakistan will safeguard the Saudi soil if there is any direct threat to it, but sending forces to Yemen will have far-reaching implications on our country.



The PML-N’s coalition partner said the government should not take any decision in this regard before reviewing all the pros and cons of the situation. “Both are Islamic countries and we should rather play a mediatory role to defuse the situation,” he suggested.

“We will first listen to the government in Parliament on Monday and what it exactly thinks, and then will respond to it,” he maintained.

To a question about the PTI decision to end its months-long boycott to the assemblies and rejoin Parliament from Monday, Maulana Fazl said “They will be considered outsiders in the assembly,” adding that “I am only talking about the constitution what it says over their resignations from the assemblies seven months ago, and about its status today as per the law.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2015.