Chief of Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman has said here on Sunday that JUI-F would take a decision whether to support the 18th Amendment Bill only after clause by clause reading of the draft to be filed in the parliament.
Talking to newsmen here after addressing a gathering at Jamia Faridia, he said that his party would look into each and every clause of the bill to undo the 17th amendment, which was passed by the parliament primarily to strengthen Musharraf. "Our decision will be based on principles," said the chief of JUI-F, an ally of the ruling coalition.
Responding to a question, he said that the campaign for restoration of pre-emergency judiciary meant nothing but just to reinstate one judge (the deposed Chief Justice). Almost all the deposed judges have taken fresh oath. Most of them have been reinstated, he added.
Earlier in his address in Jamia Faridia, he said that Lal Masjid operation was launched just to pitch the Pakistan Army and the religious seminaries against each other. "A campaign has been going on to defame the Islamic movements in the country," he told the gathering that marked the formal reopening of the Jamia Faridia, which was closed down by the government as a result of Lal Masjid operation. The Lal Masjid management was running the seminary. The other seminary Jamia Hafsa, which was educating only female students, has not yet been reopened.
The former opposition leader in the National Assembly said that Nato forces were at the doorstep of Pakistan. In such a situation, we cannot afford to turn the religious seminaries into war pickets, he added. This will invite more dangers to the country and the religious institutions, he said. He said that the detained Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz would be released soon. He asked the Lal Masjid management to cooperate with Islamabad administration to find out a new place where the Jamia Hafsa could be rebuilt.
Fazal said that unrest in Pakistan was in the US interest and the unrest in Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan. He regretted that unanimous resolution passed by the joint session of the parliament could not be implemented in letter and spirit.