ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Sunday claimed that his party had the vision to steer the country out of the present crisis.

Addressing a news conference, the Maulana said that if allowed by the Speaker he could put forward concrete proposals in parliament for ending the standoff with the Taliban in Swat and tribal areas.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the briefing given by military officers in the joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, the JUI-F chief said if asked he would present the real picture which he could not do outside parliament due to its sensitive nature.

Supporting the proposal for dialogue with the Taliban, he said: “With the end of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the Western influence has reached our western borders and threatening our sovereignty”.

He said that since the entire military leadership, and not only Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, was responsible for the wrong policies pursued in the past, it was its duty to tell the truth about the rules of engagement in the war on terror.

The JUI-F chief also urged the military leadership to explain what went wrong after their promise during a briefing to coalition leaders on July 23 to change the policy about the war on terror.

He claimed that political parties, intelligentsia, bureaucracy, establishment and the military held the unanimous view that the US presence in Afghanistan was the root cause of the problem. He said that the foreign troops must leave that country for the sake of peace in the region.

Responding to a question, he said that the war on terror which had been owned by the rulers as Pakistan’s war was in fact a war to protect American interests in the region.

The Maulana said the JUI-F had serious reservations about the ongoing operation in the Bajaur agency. He called for a probe to find out why the operation was not only continued but intensified in Bajaur after government’s announcement of a ceasefire during Ramazan.

In reply to a question, he said President Asif Ali Zardari had categorically denied remarks attributed to him about the struggle of Kashmiris.