Internal strife: Cracks emerge in JUI-F Charsadda chapter

District president and former MNA lock horns over suspension of Haji Danishmand

CHARSADDA: Only days after Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) show of strength at a workers’ convention in South Waziristan Agency, differences within the Charsadda chapter have come to the fore.

With local government polls around the corner, district ameer Maulana Hashim Khan has suspended party leader Haji Danishmand over his involvement in election preparation. The move fuelled a previously dormant grudge between two rival factions within the party, forcing Hashim and former Mohmand Agency MNA Maulana Ghulam Muhammad to publicly demand each other’s suspension for “weakening the party’s roots”.



The primary cause of the rift was the 2014 intra-party poll where Khan defeated MNA Gohar Shah by a narrow margin for JUI-F’s district presidency. The latter challenged the election results. While the party is yet to decide on the complaint, it allowed Khan to assume office. Khan taking action against Danishmand irked the rival faction.

Danishmand rejected the decision while former MNA Ghulam Muhammad issued a statement on Monday, blaming Khan for weakening the party as LG polls knock on the door.

Following suit, Khan also addressed a press conference on Tuesday, accusing his opponents of interfering in administrative matters. He appealed to the party’s provincial leadership to take action against Ghulam Muhammad and Danishmand.

“After failing to win polls in Mohmand Agency, Ghulam Muhammad is trying to make room for himself in the party’s Charsadda set-up,” he said. The district ameer said the former MNA and his son, Senator Hafiz Rasheed, have previously been suspended by the party for violating discipline.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2015.