Pakistan’s Islamic leader Fazlur Rehman says that Imran Khan’s party has the right to hold rallies.
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Rehman also lamented the failure to implement the recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), stressing the importance of maintaining Islamic principles. (Reuters file photo)
Rehman, head of his faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), gave a powerful speech in the National Assembly
Pakistan’s prominent right-wing Islamist leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday came out in support of his former rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and said the opposition party has the right to hold rallies and even form the government.
Rehman, who heads his faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), delivered a fiery speech in the National Assembly and criticized the powerful establishment for allegedly rigging the political system.
“It is PTI’s right to hold rallies,” he said. “We had also objected to the 2018 elections and we have objection to this (February 8 elections) also. If there was rigging in the 2018 elections, why is there no rigging in the present one?” he asked. PTI leader Asad Qaiser had demanded the party’s right to organize the rally. Rehman said in his speech, “Asad Qaiser’s demand is right and it is PTI’s right to organize the rally.”
Rehman urged the ruling coalition of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People’s Party to allow PTI to form the government if it has the majority in Parliament. “Leave this power. come and sit here [on the opposition benches], And if PTI is really a big group, then give them the government,” he said. The cleric then expressed disappointment over the role of the establishment and bureaucracy in elections and running the country.
“The establishment and bureaucracy had no role in achieving this country,” he said. He alleged that the elections held on February 8 were not fair but flawed. “What kind of election is this where the losers are not satisfied and the winners are upset?” He said. He drew parallels with neighboring India. “Just compare India and us… both countries got independence on the same day. But today they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower and we are on the verge of bankruptcy.”
He said that decisions are taken by someone else but politicians are held responsible for the problems. Rehman also lamented the failure to implement the recommendations of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), stressing the importance of maintaining Islamic principles. “We got the country in the name of Islam, but today we have become a secular state. Not a single recommendation of CII has been implemented since 1973. How can we be an Islamic country?” He said.
The CCI is a constitutional body established to help in the Islamization of laws. He also said that Pakistan is begging from the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy. JUI-F was a staunch rival of PTI and had taken steps to remove Imran Khan. After his fall, the JUI-F became part of the coalition government.
However, after the elections he broke away from PML-N and PPP as he alleged that the elections were rigged to keep his party out of power. Many believe that by supporting PTI, the clerics are pressurizing the ruling establishment and the government to cut a deal to get a bigger share in the spoils of politics than they can afford.