MARDAN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has warned of an aggressive response if the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led central and provincial governments tried to put him or other JUI-F leadership under house arrest.

The JUI-F chief flanked by party’s provincial and local leaders was talking to media persons here on Sunday.

He claimed that the party had fully mobilised workers by holding what he said 15 million marches across the country over the last nine months against the “selected” Prime Minister Imran Khan.

JUI-F holds MPCs in Buner, Shangla to enlist support for march

Mr Rehman said the party would hold Kashmir Solidarity Day on Oct 27 across the country, and after that the JUI-F leaders and workers would move from different parts of the country towards Islamabad for their Azadi March. He said the anti-government sit-in scheduled to start from October 31 would continue till resignation of the prime minister.

He threatened to block the entire country if the party workers were stopped from entering Islamabad as holding protest was their legal and constitutional right.

The JUI-F chief said the government had constituted a committee which gave more threats and less calls for talks to them.

He said how could the PTI government ask them to remain within legal and constitutional limits as it was itself “illegal and unconstitutional”.

To a query about participation of other political parties in the Azadi Marchi, he said: “We are going to call a meeting of Rahbar Committee which is consisted of representatives of almost all the political parties, in next few days and a united and consensus viewpoint of all political parties will come after it.” He claimed that all political parties would abide by that united viewpoint.

Responding to a question about the government’s announcement to ban Ansar-ul-Islam, he said how it would be possible for the government to combat armed organisations if it feared baton-wielding members of Ansar-ul-Islam.

The JUI-f chief claimed that Ansar-ul-Islam was not illegal or unconstitutional as it was registered with the government, adding that the members of Ansar-ul-Islam had jointly performed security duties along with the police.

BUNER: The JUI-F Buner chapter convened a multiparty conference on Sunday to enlist political support for its Azadi March on Islamabad.

The conference was held at the residence of JUI-F former NA candidate Maulana Haleem-ur-Rehman in Zaga Elai village in Daggar tehsil.

JUI-F provincial emir Mufti Fazal Gahfoor chaired the conference.

ANP district president Mohammad Karim Babak, PML-N’s Kamran Khan, JI’s Abdul Ghaffar, PPP’s Jowhar Ali Khan, PkMAP’s Mehboob Alam, QWP’s Sher Khan and AWP’s Mizullah Khan attended the MPC.

The participants were informed that the Azadi March to Islamabad was a must to rid the people of the incumbent PTI government in larger public interest.

The JUI-F leaders insisted that time was ripe for the opposition parties both in the parliament and outside to come up with expectations of the people.

The JUI-F leaders invited district leadership of the parties to join the march against the government. The leaders of the parties vowed to join the JUI-F march.

However, the JI’s Abdul Ghaffar said the party’s top leadership would decide whether or not to participate in the JUI-F march.

SWABI: JUI-F’s central naib emir Maulana Fazal Ali and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general secretary Attaulhaq Darvaish have said negotiations with the government could only be held after Prime Minister Imran Khan stepped down.

Talking to media persons on Sunday, they said the main objective of the Azadi March was overthrowing the government.

They claimed that all opposition parties were on the same page that the PTI government should be dislodged as it had destroyed the economy, failed on the foreign policy front, slapped unjust taxes and weakened the institutions.

Maulana Darvaish said the PTI government had failed to deliver, so it must leave the office.

SHANGLA: The local leadership of political parties at a multiparty conference on Sunday pledged to fully participate in the Azadi March.

The MPC was called by JUI-F in Bisham, where presidents and general secretaries of ANP, QWP, PPP and PML-N were present.

After the meeting, the JUI-F district emir told media persons that the PPP, ANP, QWP and PML-N had agreed to actively participate in the Azadi March on Islamabad.

A 10-member committee was formed tasked with taking decisions about the march and dealing with the district administration.

Later, a motorcycle rally was held on the Karakoram Highway from Dandai to the district headquarters, Alpuri.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2019