PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday claimed that despite the desire of the powers that be, his party refused to join hands with those parting ways with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to claim electoral victory in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“They [powers that be] wanted us to make an electoral alliance with PTI deserters to sweep the coming elections here but we made it clear to them that those who committed crimes against the nation are not acceptable to us even after their exit from the Tehreek-i-Insaf,” Mr Fazl told a function in Wazir Bagh area here.

The JUI-F chief claimed that the powers that be were “promoting” such former PTI leaders in the province. “Our province’s political matters are being handed over to those involved in the crimes against it,” he said.

The JUI-F chief called for the accountability of both PTI chairman Imran Khan and the “military generals, who imposed him on the nation” as the prime minister.

JUI-F chief calls for accountability of Imran Khan and military generals who supported him

He said Pakistan’s political and economic crises were not the result of any accident and instead, some governments were installed in the country to ruin the economy and harm the cause of Islam.

“We took on such forces head-on and protected the country,” he said.

Mr Fazl said neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan should have anything to do with each other’s political matters. He asked both countries to plan ways to improve their relations but insisted that regrettably, that planning was not there.

He wondered which forces were bent on pitting Islamabad and Kabul against each other after the pullout of the US forces from Afghanistan.

The JUI-F chief said it was in the interest of both countries to have good bilateral relations.

“We [Pakistan and Afghanistan] have the same culture with our relations spanning over hundreds of years. We have to find out the forces that are creating misunderstandings between us,” he said.

Mr Fazl urged the government not to take emotional decisions, which, he said, would harm national interest and turn the country into a source of international conspiracies.

He said at the time of Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, authorities promised “independence” to the residents but that promise was not fulfilled.

“The Fata-KP merger came without any planning leaving [Fata] residents in the lurch,” he said.

The JUI-F leader said the government had promised Rs100 billion development funding every year to tribal districts but only a fraction of that amount had so far been released even eight years after the merger.

He took a dig at nationalist parties for demanding military operations in tribal districts and said such demands rendered tribesmen refugees in their own country.

“We know very well whose interests they [nationalists] you have served,” he said.

Mr Fazl criticised Israel for bombing Gaza indiscriminately.

“If you [Israel] have to fight a war, then fight the fighter,” he said.

The JUI-F chief said Israel was not ready to fight for the land and instead, it was targeting mosques, schools, hospitals and markets, killing civilians and children, and destroying water reservoirs.

He said the Muslim world should speak with one voice over the Gaza issue.

“If the US and Europe can stand with Israel, Muslims of the world should also stand with Palestinians,” he said.

Mr Fazl said he couldn’t expect the United Nations Security Council and Organisation of Islamic Conference to resolve the Kashmir and Palestine issues.

“The solution they [UN] have come up with in the last 75 years is the handover of the occupied Kashmir to India and Palestine to Israel,” he said.

On the occasion, former acting Peshawar nazim Haji Umar Khan announced the joining of the JUI-F.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2023