KARACHI: The head of the main opposition alliance and chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on Sunday asked the people of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control not to pin their hopes on Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government which, he alleged, has made a deal over the occupied territory.

He called upon the international community to take notice of the brutalities of Indian forces in the occupied valley.

During a media interaction after presiding over a meeting of the Sindh chapter of JUI-F at Darul Uloom Anwarul Uloom in Korangi, the Pakistan Democratic Movement chief talked about issues ranging from national politics to security situation and opposition’s recent defeat in the Senate to Pakistan’s foreign policy.

“It’s so unfortunate that we ourselves have handed over Kashmir to India,” the Maulana claimed. He said JUI-F would organise different events across the country to mark the upcoming Kashmir Day on Feb 5.

Accuses Imran of having made a deal on the issue

“I suggest the people of Kashmir that they should not keep any hope with the Pakistan government. This government has made a deal over Kashmir,” he said. He, however, assured the Kashmiris that “we would not let you down”.

“We ask the United Nations to wake up. We ask the world to get up. The people of Kashmir are as humans as those in other parts of the world,” the PDM leader said.

The longest-serving chairman of the parliament’s committee on Kashmir affairs, who lost the office after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf came to power in 2018, said his party would mobilise the masses on the Kashmir issue on the Kashmir Day.

Despite parting ways with the Pakistan Peoples Party, the PDM chief put his weight behind the PPP when he was asked about the recent Senate’s session during which the government succeeded in getting a crucial bill passed in spite of the fact that it does not have majority seats in the house. The Maulana defended the opposition and put blame of mismanagement on the treasury.

“The members [of the opposition in Senate] are not responsible for this passing of the State Bank bill,” he said. “In fact, those are responsible who issued the agenda of the session in the dead of night. You may blame anyone you wish but I would not target the opposition. They [PTI government] deliberately mismanaged things on such a sensitive issue.”

The PDM chief, between the lines, also explained the reason behind the tone towards the PPP, which is largely blamed for the latest Senate defeat of the opposition, by its opponents, calling the consensus among anti-PTI parties crucial for larger interest and he directly shared one of them when he strongly opposed the much-talked idea of presidential system in the country.

“We keep hearing such ideas off and on,” he said in reply to a question about his thoughts on presidential system. “Why on earth we need this presidential system when we have a parliament, Constitution and model of this parliamentary governance,” the Maulana said.

“Those who propagate such ideas should be asked what this experiment had given to the country in the past. The country was divided during the same presidential rule. This is a dictatorial model of governance,” he said.

The PDM chief ruled out the possibility of any change in plan and schedule of the opposition alliance’s upcoming protest in March in Islamabad and called it a “decisive movement” for the future of the country’s democracy.

When he was referred to the historically planned parade of the armed forces in the federal capital which could coincide with the opposition’s protest, he responded while cracking a joke. “I think March 23 is not dedicated only for those who parade, it’s also for those who want to march,” he said, making the presser burst into laughter.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2022