• Fazl says he won’t surrender
• Ministers assail the decision

ISLAMABAD: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) on Friday announced termination of the basic membership of four senior party leaders for deviating from party policies, with all JUI-F workers being warned against making any contact with them.

While announcing the decisions that the party’s disciplinary committee took on Thursday, JUI-F central spokesman Mohammad Aslam Ghori said the basic membership of former chairman Council of Islamic Ideology Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani, former senator Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, both belonging to Balochistan; and Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan hailing from Dir and Maulana Shujaul Mulk from Mardan had been terminated.

He said Maulana Sherani, Hafiz Ahmed, Maulana Gul Naseeb and Maulana Shujaul Mulk were expelled from the party for deviating from the JUI-F’s policies.

The disciplinary committee of the party’s Central Majlis-i-Shura, chaired by Maulana Abdul Qayyum Halijvi, unanimously decided to terminate the membership of the four leaders, he said, adding that the decision was later ratified by the JUI-F Majlis-i-Aamla, which was chaired by senior naib emir Maulana Mohammad Yousuf, while the provincial chiefs of the party also participated in the meeting.

The Majlis-i-Aamla meeting was held in Islamabad soon after the meeting of the disciplinary committee.

Maulana Halijvi is the chairman of the seven-member disciplinary committee that comprises Agha Ayub Shah, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Maulana Abdul Hakim Akbari, Maulana Abdul Rehman, Mufti Rozi Khan and Malik Faiz Mohammad.

A senior member of the party said the final decision had been made after repeated warnings to the four leaders, who had been speaking openly against party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his policies.

“Hafiz Hussain Ahmed was given the last chance for a hearing even on Thursday after the decision of the disciplinary committee but he did not respond,” the party official said.

Sources in the party said the disciplinary committee had gone to Quetta around a month ago and met Hafiz Ahmed to know his concerns. He was requested not to come out in media over party matters and observe party discipline. “But he did not adhere to it and did not pick the phone when the maulana wanted to go to his house to condole the death of his mother,” the party official said.

“Similarly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had also gone to the house of Maulana Sherani in Bara Kahu Islamabad to condole the demise of one of the relatives of Maulana Sherani and he even went to the house of Gul Naseeb in Dir on way to Chitral during recent country public rallies.”

The official said there were continuous reports that all the persons led by Maulana Sherani were engaged in lobbying against the party leadership.

Will not surrender: Fazl In his media talk in Dera Ismail Khan on Friday, Maulana Fazl said the party was fighting against the incompetent government.

“It is agreed that the government should go,” he said, adding that he was not like General Niazi to lay down arms and surrender.

Responding to a question related to the decision of disciplinary committee of the party, Maulana Fazl said it was an internal party decision taken after fulfilling the requirements.

He alleged that Maulana Sherani had the backing of power brokers to recognise Israel. “The establishment and the PTI government was supporting Maulana Sherani’s statements,” he added.

On the occasion, he also announced that there would be a rally titled, “Death to Israel” in Karachi in the month of January 2021.

Also, the Maulana said: “PML-Functional was the B team of the Establishment.”

While addressing a press conference in Islamabad earlier on Thursday, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri had blamed the establishment over all the corruption cases against the JUI-F chief. “We know that NAB is nothing and the government is powerless,” he added.

“If the harassment against Maulana Fazlur Rehman does not end we will hold a protest demonstration in front of GHQ,” he said.

Later, federal ministers Senator Shibli Faraz and Ali Amin Gandapur too held a press conference at the press information department and lashed out at Maulana Fazl-led Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for making an undemocratic and unconstitutional demand.

“They are asking for the dissolution of the elected government that has come to power through fair and free elections,” Senator Faraz said, adding that they did not have proof of any misdoings in the 2018 elections. “If there is any, why [they did] not bring that forward?”

He said the whole PDM was only to protect the ill-gotten money of leaders of the opposition parties.

Senator Faraz said: “Instead of serving Islam in the name of conducting politics under the banner of religion, maulana was only making money from this platform like other political parties.”

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur said what he had been saying about Maulana Fazl was being endorsed by the seniors members of the JUI-F.

“Instead of responding to the accusations, Maulana Fazl has started hurling threats at the state institutions,” the minister said, adding that Maulana Sherani too had claimed that Fazlur Rehman was minting money in the name of party ticket. He alleged the Maulana had acted like a political blackmailer for gains from successive governments while those objecting to his conduct were being shown the door.

He added that the Maulana was not acting like a democrat but like a fascist.

Mr Gandapur said he would soon make public the evidence of benami assets of worth billions of rupees of the JUI-F leadership.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2020