JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has stated that enacting a constitutional amendment through what he termed a “fake parliament” was an injustice.
At a press conference in Peshawar on Sunday, he said that his party members were not willing to tolerate such injustices.
The JUI-F General Council elected Fazl as the party chief and Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as the secretary general for the next five years. They were elected during the party intra-party election held at the Mufti Mehmood Markaz.
Nearly 1,500 general council members from across the country attended the JUIF meeting.
The JUI-F became the centre of attention in Pakistan’s politics this month after it kept the government on its toes over the vote for a controversial constitutional amendment.
According to media reports, there was more than one draft of the proposed legislation after the JUI-F raised concerns over it. The government made several trips to Fazl’s house on Sunday while keeping sessions of both houses of Parliament delayed.
Described as the “26th Constitutional Amendment”, the intended legislation was set to propose a fixed three-year tenure for the chief justice of Pakistan. On September 18, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman rejected the proposed constitutional amendments and laid out his party’s stance on the issue.
Fazl expressed disapproval of Parliament, alleging that it lacked a public mandate and was not qualified to make significant amendments. “It is unjust to facilitate a constitutional amendment through a fake parliament. No matter how much rigging is done, we are ready to stand our ground,” he said.
He added that the JUIF and the said parties would also prepare and share their draft amendments. Such amendments should be brought forward to provide relief to the masses and strengthen democracy without compromising the sovereignty of parliament, he added.
Fazl reiterated that judicial reforms should not be person-specific.
The religiopolitical leader went on to add that the PTI should be allowed to hold rallies, stating that preventing such gatherings was an “undemocratic act.”
He claimed that there was no government representing the people either at the federal level or in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and alleged that their mandate was stolen and handed over to others in the province.
When asked about KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s controversial remark regarding gunfire, Rehman dismissed it as childish, stating: “The CM’s tone is nothing but immature.”
Moreover, he claimed that the integration of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) was done under US pressure, citing remarks from former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa regarding alleged American influence.
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Fazl claimed that an American official stated in his presence, “FATA merger is a must” and referred to General Bajwa’s acknowledgement of US pressure regarding the issue. He added that the people of FATA should have received Rs800 billion by now.
The JUI-F chief condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanon which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He warned that the “fire that erupted” in Lebanon by Israel could engulf the entire world.
He urged the Arab countries to devise a combined defence system, otherwise, the “flames of war would affect all of them.”
