Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), has said he would soon make a decision about postponing his ‘Azadi March’ – aimed at toppling Imran Khan’s government – till the end of November.
His announcement came after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) presented the recommendations of its central executive committee to the JUI-F chief. “Whether the long march will be held in October or November, you will find out soon,” Fazl told the media, accompanied by PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal.
Ahsan Iqbal told reporters that his party wanted more time so that it could be coordinated in a better manner for effective results of the anti-government protests.
“We have presented the recommendations of our party’s central executive committee to Maulana sahib. The PML-N has already made its decision to participate in the long march,” he added. The PML-N delegation, which included Ahsan Iqbal, Shah Mohammad Shah, Ameer Muqam, Abdul Qadir Baloch and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, also apprised the JUI-F chief and his accompanying delegation of the party’s meeting with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other PPP members. “The PML-N, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and other opposition parties are on the same page [and believed] that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has failed to deliver in the last one year,” Ahsan Iqbal said. He said the country’s economy was deteriorating so rapidly that there would be a serious threat to national security next year. “The government’s anti-people policies now stand exposed. The increase in the prices of electricity and gas is in front of us,” he added.
The PML-N leader said the country’s leading businessmen were meeting the army chief to inform him about the losses they were suffering. “This is extremely worrying. If businessmen have to approach the army chief for grievances, we need to think about where we are heading.”
The JUI-F chief said that all opposition parties, in coordination with each other, were trying to evolve consensus over the issue.
“We’ll move forward together… and will be seen on the same page during decisive stages in coming days,” he remarked.
Fazl said that Pakistan and Islam were inseparable. “We talk about upholding the constitution, according to which Islam is the religion of the state,” he added. He strongly criticised the PTI government over its ‘anti-people’ policies.
Meanwhile, a private news channel reported that the ‘Azadi March’ had divided the PML-N into two factions.
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif and Rana Tanveer group have expressed reservations over the Islamabad lockdown, the channel quoted its sources as saying.
According to PML-N party sources, during the central executive committee meeting, Shehbaz Sharif questioned where the party would stand if lockdown failed.
On the other hand, PML-N leaders Mushahid Ullah, Javed Latif, Muhammad Zubair and Murtaza Abbasi have supported the JUI-F’s Azadi March, while Khawaja Asif has opposed the use of religion card during a sit-in. Ahsan Iqbal, after meeting Fazlur Rehman, said that the final decision to participate in the Azadi March or to stage a sit-in would be made by PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif.