Daily Times

JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday announced a ‘war’ against Imran Khan’s style of politics and those who support him. In a briefing to journalists, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman took aim at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his politics. “You have always done politics with support from the establishment, support from the judiciary, support from aliens and charity from the people of India,” Rehman said. “Any power which thinks that we will support them, they should hear us that we are announcing war against them.” “Who are they? Opportunists benefitting from happenstance?” he thundered.

Accusing Imran of spreading lies and misinformation, Rehman said that all of his claims have proven to be false. “We buried your government,” the PDM chief said, advising Imran to “worry about your politics.” “Worry about your government in Punjab, it may last for just a few days,” Rehman said cryptically.

He went on to accuse Imran of depending on crutches to do politics. “You did politics with support from the US, NGOs and institutions, he said, while cursing the kind of politics played by PTI. “We will not allow such politics to prevail in Pakistan at any cost,” he said, asserting that they will bury it. He continued that they had buried Imran Khan’s government and his style of politics. “We have buried his bogus narrative [of regime change],” he said, adding “we will not allow their narrative to thrive at any cost.”

On Imran’s claims that his regime was subverted through conspiracy, Rehman said that those whom he was accused of orchestrating the conspiracy were the ones who had nurtured him. “The American consulate paid your rent for eight years,” Rehman said, adding that he was groomed by them. Detailing a list of complaints, Rehman said that he did not have any complaints with state institutions. “But we do have some reservations with a section of the institution,” he said, as he gave a hint of their identity by describing them as on the other side of Attock. He added that he also had a list of complaints from the federal government. “Foreign funding case, Malam Jabba case, helicopter case, BRT case, why have these cases not been decided yet,” Rehman asked.

Rehman also suggested that the National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf complete his investigations into the resignations submitted by the PTI members of the National Assembly. “We have asked the National Assembly speaker to conduct an investigation and to accept the resignations of PTI members,” he said. “This is the prerogative of the National Assembly speaker when he accepts the resignations,” he said, adding if there are any lacunae in the laws, then there should be legislation to address them.

In his meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain the other day, Rehman said that they discussed various issues of national importance. Asked about what was the result of other meetings between Hussain and PDM’s leaders, Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Tariq Bashir Cheema, the JUI-F chief said he did not know what their conversations entailed.