Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman reaffirmed his stance on Panama leaks, calling it an international conspiracy and defended former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Talking to his supporters on Thursday, he warned that if they didn’t show solidarity now; the 2018 general elections will remain an uncertainty for the nation.

He said that the ulema were in power 15 years ago; while liberal and secular people were in power today, who had no interest in following the religion.

Maulana claimed that his party was still popular among the masses, and they held a gathering of five million recently. Criticising the United States for ‘imposing a war on the Muslims’, Maulana lambasted foreign leaders for suggesting negotiations to diffuse the situation. “We stand with the law, constitution and our country, then why does the US object to us?” he asked.

He stressed the need for national unity and said all political parties were geared up for the next polls.

Fazalur Rehman said that, when political war is waged in a country, political unrest ensues. He said JUI was doing Jihad in the form of politics.

“It is high time that we work our way towards national unity because without unity, this nation won’t make it through to the elections in 2018,” he warned during an address in Mardan.

“Terrorism has become Pakistan’s main issue but who is the responsible for that?” he said, adding that the US president had hurled allegations against Pakistan, and that priorities of the global powers change with the passage of time.

Discussing the US policy for the region, he remarked that the country is ‘habitual of talking about negotiations’ after it ‘wages war on Muslims.’ He alleged that international powers wanted to destabilise the country.

He stated that [political parties] may disagree on strategic decisions, but all of them shared the common goal of achieving peace.

Published in Daily Times, November 24^th 2017.