ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Wednesday, while rejecting the election results has announced launching countrywide protests against the alleged rigging in the February 8 polls.
Addressing a press conference following a two-day consultative meeting of the Central General Council (CGC) of his party, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said, “If the establishment believes that elections were free and fair, then that means the army’s May 9 narrative has been buried.”
The parliament has lost credibility after the “rigged” elections, the JUI chief said while inviting the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo to join the opposition in the National Assembly. He announced his party leadership had decided the JUI-F would not join the coalition government.
Responding to a question, Maulana said “JUI is not an ally of any party.” “I, therefore, invite the PML-N and Nawaz to come with us and sit in the opposition,” he added.
In response to a question regarding a coalition with the PTI, he said, “Our conflict is with their minds, not their bodies and parliament belongs to every elected member. We hope this issue will be resolved.” To another query, Fazl stated that the JUI-F was not subservient to both the PPP and the PML-N.
Rehman said his party would defend its mandate and would stage protests against the worst rigging at every level. He said the polls were totally not held in a free, fair and transparent manner, considering its unexpected outcome. Expressing reservations over the entire election process and its outcome, he said disunity harmed people. “Misunderstanding and lack of unity undermined the people,” he said.
He added that the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan were largely deprived of their right to vote as in many parts, they were restricted from voting. “The problems faced by the provinces will be placed on the back burner as voters did not vote on the basis of issues.”
In Balochistan, a PML-N candidate withdrew his nomination papers in favour of Mahmood Khan Achakzai, but surprisingly, the candidate was still declared a winner. Moreover, two Afghan nationals were also declared winners in Balochistan’s capital Quetta, Maulana revealed. He said that in Peshawar, the provincial capital of KPK another Afghan national won the elections and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the notification of his win.
He claimed that the election results clearly showed that bribes were taken from successful and unsuccessful candidates. “Some were even given entire assemblies in return for money.” He said the ECP’s role “from day one has been dubious”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024