The government once again failed in persuading Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) to rejoin coalition government here on Saturday. In the wake of the continued political manoeuvring in the Federal Capital, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Awami National Party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan met JUI-F chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman one after the other to persuade him to reverse his decision of quitting the Pakistan People's Party-led ruling coalition.
But, all efforts failed to win back support of the JUI-F, which it withdrew on December 14 following removal of its Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. Sources in the JUI-F said that Interior Minister visited the residence of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman at the Ministers' Enclave with a 'message' from Presidency to review his decision of quitting the coalition. But the one-hour long meeting between the two bore no fruit.
They said that the Mualana gave a clear message to Interior Minister that it was impossible for him to take the decision back. However, the sources added that the JUI-F chief told the Interior Minister that the 'message' would be presented before the party's central executive committee, which has been convened to meet on December 22.
The sources said that Maulana also turned down the Interior Minister's request not to submit application for sitting on the opposition benches in the National Assembly, as the government wanted his party to remain in the coalition.
The JUI-F has decided to submit a formal application to the Speaker National Assembly for making seat arrangements for its members on the opposition benches in the Lower House of the Parliament.
Earlier, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan also visited the residence of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman and held talks with him but he also failed to win over the JUI-F chief's confidence. The sources said that Maulana told the ANP chief that his party took a principled stance of quitting the coalition as it was completely ignored and not taken into confidence on important decisions. However, the two leaders agreed to support the democratic process to continue and decided that they will not support any unconstitutional move.
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