"I am surprised; what prompted them (N-League) to make such a strange announcement," JUI-F General Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Haideri told Business Recorder. "All of us have felt the pain of the victims of train fire tragedy and Maulana sahib has specially prayed for them. But for any opposition party that is a part of the Azadi March to unilaterally announce the postponement of the jalsa without consulting other opposition partners is very strange. It raises suspicions and misunderstandings, notably who is actually behind this move."
Haideri said no leader from PML-N contacted the JUI-F leadership before announcing the postponement of the jalsa by one day at the Azadi March protest site at sector H-9 Islamabad. "We came to know about this announcement through media reports," the JUI-F general secretary said.
Earlier, JUI-F chief Fazal Ur Rehman announced in Gujar Khan on Thursday before leaving for Islamabad that the jalsa will take place as per schedule. "Azadi March is our show and we will decide what to do. I don't know why misunderstandings are being spread in this regard and who is behind all this," he said while taking an indirect jibe at the PML-N.
Awami National Party (ANP) also took on the PML-N for announcing the postponement. "We have sufficient people here at the protest and we would hold the jalsa as per the original plan of Azadi March agreed by the Rahbar Committee," party chief Asfandyar Wali said at a press conference after reaching Islamabad's protest site.
ANP leader Zahid Khan said, "The postponement of the jalsa is a propaganda of PML-N. The rest of the opposition parties have nothing to do with it. The PML-N should clarify whether it wants to be a part of the Azadi March or it has other intentions."
Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal had appeared on television to announce that PML-N has decided to hold jalsa in Islamabad after Friday prayers instead of Thursday in solidarity with the victims of train fire tragedy. When contacted, Chairman PML-N Raja Zafar-ul-Haq expressed surprise over the reaction of opposition parties against PML-N. "All the opposition parties had agreed that Friday (after Juma prayer) would be the best time to hold the jalsa to attract maximum crowd and support. It is really surprising now PML-N is being targeted for making the agreed announcement."
He said the PML-N is 'part and parcel of Azadi March.' "But publicly ridiculing any political party creates misunderstandings, which is detrimental to the unity of joint opposition. I urge all the opposition leaders to clear all the misunderstandings at personal level before announcing anything publicly."
Later, however, PML-N backtracked from its position and took the stance that any decision taken by opposition parties on dharna (sit-in) would be acceptable to it. A source in PML-N told Business Recorder that the instructions to announce the postponement of the jalsa were issued by party President Shehbaz Sharif which has created internal division in PML-N after the N-League faced criticism from other opposition parties.
The source said that ANP chief's decision to reach the protest site and hold a press conference without waiting for the JUI-F chief, who was still en route from Gujar Khan, had also not gone down well with the JUI-F leadership. "It seems that opposition parties are following their own policies and there is no coordination between the stakeholders of Azadi March," the source said.
Some 75 people were burnt to death and scores injured after Pakistan Railway's Tezgam Express that was on its way from Karachi to Lahore caught fire near Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday. Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid claimed that the incident took place due to the explosion of a stove used by a passenger for the preparation of breakfast whereas several passengers and eyewitnesses claimed that incident took place due to short circuit in Tezgam Express. The cause of the incident is yet to be determined.