ISLAMABAD: Ditched by no one but his own “trusted aides” after February 2024 general elections, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rehman has once again returned to the limelight as government delegations are moving from pillar to post to garner his support for the passage of controversial “constitutional package”.

A delegation led by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman comprising Naveed Qamar and others visited the heavyweight cleric with bouquet in their hands on Thursday in a bid to take him onboard over the matters pertaining to the controversial reforms.

Talking to media after the meeting, Sherry Rehman, a close confidant of Zardari, said that it is always a good experience to meet Maulana.

She said that the PPP delegation called on Maulana on the directives of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as JUI-F’s support is crucial to get the bill pass the house, as the coalition government lacks the required numerical strength for the constitutional amendment.

To a question, she said that the world will get to know about the outcome of PPP delegation’s meeting with the JUI-F chief, adding “there is a need to hold the meetings frequently in politics and it is important to take everybody on board.”

“We are trying to bring every political stakeholder on one-page. However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has his own ideology,” she added.

We want to move forward by taking everybody onboard including Maulana Fazl, she added.

“The PPP will come up with its own proposal, but we’ve no idea about other political parties as what’s their strategy with regard to the constitutional amendment,” she added.

About Bilawal’s meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif, she claimed that the PPP had a history of “cordial” relations with Sharif i.e. the historic Charter of Democracy (CoD), etc.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024