CHARSADDA: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that suggestions about ‘Azadi March’ given by all opposition parties to the JUI-F leadership would be considered at a meeting of the party’s central executive committee on Oct 24.

He was talking to reporters after meeting ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan at the latter’s Walibagh residence on Monday.

ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan who was present on the occasion, said his party fully supported the ‘Azadi March’, adding that if the government arrested the JUI-F leadership before Oct 27, he himself would lead the march.

Maulana Fazl said that all opposition parties were on the same page on the issue of ‘Azadi March’ and a sea of people would drown the illegitimate government of PTI.

Fazl says proposals of opposition parties to be discussed on 24th

He made it clear that if the government resorted to violence against party workers, the government would be responsible for consequences. The Maulana claimed that all small and big political parties were supporting the ‘Azadi March’ and the event would be completely peaceful. He, however, warned the government that if it tried to stop peaceful workers of JUI-F the party leadership would not be able to stop workers from resorting to violence.

“We don’t want confrontation with state institutions. Our movement is against incompetent rulers, who have plunged the country and the nation into crisis,” he said. “We are familiar with prisons and not scared of going to jails and government’s ministers and spokesperson are strengthening our movement by giving press statements and holding press conferences.

He said the PML-N had given some proposals to JUI-F about the ‘Azadi March’. “We welcome these proposals and the party’s central executive committee meeting on Oct 24 will discuss these proposals to give final touches to arrangements for the march.

On this occasion, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali bitterly criticised statements of the KP chief minister and some other ministers about the opposition’s march, saying the language they had been using was not political and such statements would aggravate the situation.

In the federal capital, JUI-F’s Information Secretary for Islamabad Chapter Mufti Shafiqur Rehman said on Monday his party’s core committee would meet on Tuesday to discuss arrangements for the ‘Azadi March’.

He said since there was no difference of opinion over causes of the ‘Azadi March’, invitations had been extended to all segments of society to take part in the march.

The JUI-F leader said that after the party’s core committee meeting, Maulana Fazlur Rehman was likely to meet senior clerics of Deobandi school of thought belonging to Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

In Quetta, JUI-F Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said time had come to rid the country of the incompetent government of PTI which he said had brought the country’s economy to the brink of disaster.

Speaking at a press conference here on Monday at the residence of MNA Maulana Wasey, along with other party leaders, he said that JUI-F’s ‘Azadi March’ would prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the PTI government which had lost credibility and trust of the people.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2019