ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while declining to accept any portfolio for his party members in the present government setup, has asked for early elections, saying it was the principled stance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) since after the 2018 elections.
According to the JUI leaders and a spokesman for the JUI chief, the PDM from day one rejected the outcome of the 2018 elections, not accepted the Imran Khan-led government as the previous general elections were “massively rigged” which do not reflect the aspiration of the masses, therefore, there is no sense of practicality in what is happening now.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman also said that we overthrew the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, so that the people of Pakistan could be given their mandate back. “Now it is our responsibility to give back the nation what we promised,” he added.
The JUI-F leader further said that that if there is any problem with the electoral system, it should be rectified for the time being and the general elections should be announced as soon as possible.
The JUI leaders said that there are no serious differences among the PDM leadership and soon it will decide the tenure of the government. They said that the JUI chief has asked the other leaders of the PDM to bring required legislation in the parliament and after completing this, the prime minister must advise the president of Pakistan to dissolve the assembly and go for fresh elections.
The sources said that a couple of days ago, Maulana, who is also the chief of the PDM has shared his thoughts with the other allies, saying that the day Imran Khan announced dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) and the opposition moved no-confidence motion against him, the PDM achieved the set target.
They said that Maulana do not want to prolong this setup; therefore, he is not interested in any portfolio neither for himself nor for his party. The JUI-F chief said that it was never his party’s wish to unnecessarily prolong the joint opposition’s tenure.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022