LARKANA: Dismissing the demands of Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan as unconstitutional, Sindh chapter general secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro said the way adopted by Mr Khan was quite condemnable.

In a press statement issued here on Monday, the former JUI-F senator branded the speeches of Tahirul Qadri as anti-constitutional, saying that Mr Qadri’s way of protest was totally wrong. However, his [Qadri’s] certain demands carried weight, he said.

The way PTI and PAT leaders were protesting, according to him, would push the situation to what he called a ‘civil war’ and accused them of pitching people against forces. The whole show would create unrest in the country, he said.

He said the JUI-F had rejected Mr Khan’s call for civil disobedience.

Dr Soomro said since the PTI had failed to deliver in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa (KPK) and was apparently hushing up his party’s failure in KP, he had chosen to make emotional speeches in Islamabad.

He should have focused on raising the morale of his party in KP and been working for the next elections.

He did not condone the idea of staging sit-ins to dislodge the government and seizing power and said the JUI-F had a big number of students studying in Madresshas in the country, which did not mean that it opted for sit-ins and demand for removal of the government.

Terming the trend of current politics against the country and democracy, he said the JUI-F would not support the sit-ins of the PTI and PAT. He said Mr Khan’s style of protest had backfired.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2014