DERA GHAZI KHAN:The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is effectively over — its head is now the opposition leader, while the rest of the alliance partners are part of the government, said Maulana Fazlur Rehman at a moderate gathering in Taunsa on Saturday.

Addressing a public gathering in Taunsa, he said we (residents of Dera Ismael Khan and Taunsa) areboth Damani (living in between theriver and Sulaiman range).

He openly spoke about the interest-based system of the world as well as the country, Israeli atrocities, and the backwardness of Taunsa caused by the feudalsystem established by colonial rulers.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while addressing the Pakistan Stability Conference in Taunsa, said that the PDM has practically ceased to exist.

He said that rigging is rigging, whether it was done in 2018 or 2024; we didn’t recognize both results.

He said the JUI-Fcontinued to struggle for the enforcement of Sharia in Pakistan, and only the JUI-Fstood as an obstacle to the 26th Constitutional Amendment.

“We managed to include a clause against the interest-based system in the amendment, forced the government to withdraw 34 controversial provisions, and made it part of the constitution that interest would be completely abolished by January 1, 2028,” Maulana claimed.

Speaking on global affairs, he criticized Israel, the US, and Western powers, saying, “Palestine, Kashmir, Burma, Syria, and Afghanistan are still burning today, and Western powers are equally complicit in genocide.”

He told the people of Taunsa that their backwardness is being exploited by feudal lords and powerful forces. “We are being blackmailed in the name of backwardness, but we would not accept slavery,” he said.

Mr Rehman announced that a national-level conference would be called in Islamabad within a week, bringing together all schools of thought to provide the country with an ideological direction regarding Western-cum-Israeli atrocities.

The Istehkam Pakistan conference was addressed by Engineer Maulana Ziaur Rehman, Maulana Abdul Latif Taunsvi, Maulana Amanullah Qaisrani, Khawaja Madassar Mahmood, Maulana Muhammad Yahya Abbasi, and other JUI leaders.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2025