Tag: Fazlur Rehman

  • KP LG polls: Ruling PTI loses mayors to Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F

    KP LG polls: Ruling PTI loses mayors to Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)  faced a major upset on multiple seats in the first phase of local government (LG) elections held in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa (KP) at the hands of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

    Mayor seat elections:

    Peshawar:

    JUI-F’s Zubair Ali won the race with 62,388 votes while PTI’s Rizwan Bangash was second with 50,659 votes.

    JUI-F’s Zubair Ali
    Mardan:

    In Mardan, Awami National Party’s (ANP) Himayatullah Mayar won the seat with 56,458 votes while JUI-F’s Amanat Shah Haqqani was in second place with 49,938 votes.

    ANP’s Himayatullah Mayar
    Kohat:

    Sher Zaman of JUI-F won the mayor seat with 34,434 votes and independent candidate Shafiullah Jan was in second place with 25,793 votes.

    Sher Zaman of JUI-F
    Bannu:

    JUI-F’s Irfanullah Durrani has been declared the winner with 59,844 votes and PTI’s Iqbal Jadoon Khan was second with 47,398 votes.

    JUI-F’s Irfanullah Durrani

    JUI-F emerges victorious in 16 tehsil council seats, PTI wins 14, as per unofficial results, reports Geo News.

  • ‘Highly irresponsible and immoral’: Sheikh Rasheed calls out PDM for holding march on Pakistan Day

    ‘Highly irresponsible and immoral’: Sheikh Rasheed calls out PDM for holding march on Pakistan Day

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed called out the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for announcing a long march on March 23, Pakistan Day, as an “extremely irresponsible and immoral” move.

    PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that the Opposition alliance will hold an “anti-inflation march” in Islamabad on March 23.

    “The federal capital is put on high alert for preparations of the parade. Even some roads are barricaded two to three days in advance,” added Sheikh Rasheed.

  • Fazl summons meeting to finalise PDM’s anti-govt strategy, Nawaz will attend

    Fazl summons meeting to finalise PDM’s anti-govt strategy, Nawaz will attend

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah disclosed that Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman had called for a virtual meeting, which is reportedly to finalise its anti-government strategy today (Monday), reports Geo News.

    Hamdullah said leaders of the Opposition alliance will consult each other on anti-government protests and finalise PDM’s strategy. 

    Major political figures will participate in the meeting, which includes former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Former Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan Sardar Akhtar Mengal, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Aftab Sherpao, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Professor Sajid Mir, and Shah Owais Noorani.

    The official Twitter handle of PML-N shared a glimpse of the meeting.

    The meeting will discuss important issues such as the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), electoral reforms, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance, and granting the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis. 

    The PDM has started its anti-government protests. The stage will be set in Karachi first. The next one will be held in Quetta on November 17 and in Peshawar on November 20.

  • Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman today in Islamabad.

    Geo News reported that the PPP made contact with PDM after having resigned from all PDM offices in April 2021, saying that no party “should try and impose their will and dictation on any other political party”. 

    The meeting comes after the Opposition parties have “united” to adopt a joint strategy against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Members of the united Opposition on Thursday met National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser twice and asked him to give them in writing the terms of engagements, which should include a categorical statement that it was the government that approached them for dialogue.

    “We are going to communicate to the Speaker that he should give us in writing because we do not want to hear that we (the Opposition) have been pressing for a dialogue,” said Sherry Rehman.

  • PDM announces nationwide protests against inflation from October 20

    PDM announces nationwide protests against inflation from October 20

    Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday announced countrywide protests against rising inflation and poor economic policies from October 20, reports Dawn.

    Speaking to the media after the PDM meeting, Maulana Fazl said that the nation is suffering due to high inflation, adding that the PDM stands with the public shoulder to shoulder.

    “Rallies and demonstrations will begin from the district level while all PDM component parties will meet at the provincial level. PDM will lead rallies and demonstrations, stand shoulder to shoulder with people and get them their due rights,” Maulana Fazl said.

    “We will go a step further and hold wheel-jams and long march, but step by step,” he said and also called for fresh general elections in the country.

    “We are not discussing local bodies polls – the main issue is holding of free and fair general elections in the country. There is no reason of holding local government elections when there is no legitimate government in the country,” said Maulana Fazl.

  • Fazl-ur-Rehman accuses Bilawal of making a deal with the establishment

    Fazl-ur-Rehman accuses Bilawal of making a deal with the establishment

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazl-ur-Rehman accused Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari of making a deal with the establishment.

    Maulana Fazl, blaming Bilawal for the failure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), claimed: “The deal was previously offered to us but we didn’t agree to it.”

    Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto, while addressing a gathering in Rahim Yar Khan, said, “It is not possible that you talk about ‘vote ko izzat do’ [give respect to the vote] and run away the moment one has to use the power of the vote.”

    “When we were with you [PML-N], you used to say that nothing can happen without resignations. I challenge you here to work with us or start implementing your own words and resign. You [PML-N] will have to do either of the two things, otherwise, the people of Punjab will know that you are neither revolutionary nor ready for reconciliation but a hypocrite.”

  • ‘No party has the right to kick another party out of PDM’: Shehbaz Sharif

    ‘No party has the right to kick another party out of PDM’: Shehbaz Sharif

    “No party has the right to bring or kick another party out [of the alliance]. Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is a forum and decisions are taken with consensus,” said President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday.

    Shehbaz further added that we had invited ‘parliamentary leaders’ to the dinner, which had nothing to do with the PDM

    “Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has already clarified this matter. I, being the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, have a duty to fulfil. We had gathered to discuss the upcoming budget, the ill-performance, and massive failures of the sitting government,” added Shehbaz.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, took to Twitter to comment on Shehbaz Sharif’s stance. “Shehbaz Sharif should first focus on uniting the PML-N instead of uniting the opposition. The boat is in a whirlpool.”

    Chaudhry further added that the government was ready to sit with the Opposition to discuss election reforms.

    The PML-N will host an important meeting of the PDM in Islamabad today. The meeting will take place at the PML-N secretariat. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of the Leader of Jamat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and acting president of PDM Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    Matters relating to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) will be contemplated upon. Opposition leaders will decide if both parties can be taken back again in the alliance or not.

    The PDM leaders will discuss the political situation in the country and the future strategy of the anti-government alliance.

    Just a day ago, Shehbaz in a TV show hinted at his plan to convince his elder brother and the PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on these issues in the larger national interest.

  • How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    How much did the ‘Azadi March’ cost the government?

    Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Azadi March’ which took place from October 31 to November 13 cost the government over Rs240 million, Rs248 million to be exact.

    According to a report in Dawn, this amount is payable to contractors/vendors whose services were hired for security and other arrangements which included lodging, meal and transportation of police called from other districts.

    As many as 5,000 from the capital police along with 3,000 Frontier Constabulary, 1,500 Punjab Constabulary, 2,000 from KP police and 500 from Kashmir and railway police were deployed in Islamabad during the sit-in. 550 containers were also arranged to block roads as a part of security measures and 105 vehicles, including 88 buses, were used to transport the security personnel.

    The rent of a 40-foot container was Rs20,000 a day and Rs14,000 for a 20-foot container. On the other hand, the rent of a bus was Rs25,000 per day and Rs15,000 of a wagon/truck. The fuel for these vehicles cost the police Rs 20 million.

    The capital police also purchased anti-riot gears to deal with confrontations, though none took place in the 13-day sit-in.

    Other expenses included the rent of nine buildings hired for the force requisitioned from other provinces.

    Meanwhile, Rs695.6 million were spent during PTI and PAT’s dharna in 2014.

  • Azadi March: Govt’s move to seal twin cities to cost taxpayers over Rs3.3 million a day

    Azadi March: Govt’s move to seal twin cities to cost taxpayers over Rs3.3 million a day

    With the government planning to put in place hundreds of shipping containers to seal the twin cities and block the forthcoming long march of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), reports have revealed that the move will be costing taxpayers millions of rupees a day.

    JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced leading an anti-government long march to Islamabad via Rawalpindi with plans of a lockdown. While the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has invited opposition parties for a dialogue to call off the protest, it is also preparing for the worst.

    The capital will likely be sealed from October 31 onwards by either the police or the JUI-F as preparations on both sides for the Azadi March gain momentum. According to Dawn, the Islamabad police have demanded more than 550 shipping containers to intercept the march before it enters the city.

    The containers include 250 for City Zone and 100 each for Saddar, Industrial Area and Rural zones, while the logistics department of the police has ordered a vendor to arrange 450 containers.

    The Rawalpindi police, on the other hand, have prepared a contingency plan under which 120 freight containers will be used to seal the garrison city by blocking all roads leading to Islamabad.

    According to officials, each container being procured for both the cities, costs more than Rs5,000 a day to rent, which puts the total cost of 670 containers at Rs3.3 million (Rs3,350,000) a day.

  • Azadi March: PML-N asks PTI govt to provide container, tents and biryani

    Azadi March: PML-N asks PTI govt to provide container, tents and biryani

    A lawmaker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has submitted in the Punjab Assembly a resolution demanding a container, tents and biryani from the government for Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) forthcoming Azadi Marchi.

    “Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had promised giving opposition parties a container, tents and biryani for their sit-in after his election as the country’s chief executive,” PML-N’s Uzma Bukhari stated in the resolution submitted to the secretariat of the provincial house.

    Speaking to journalists earlier this year, the premier had said if the opposition wanted to stage a protest, his government was “ready to provide them a container at D-Chowk”.

    “We [the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] staged a sit-in for 126 days, let’s see for how many days can the opposition protest,” he had said, challenging his rivals to launch a movement.

    The resolution in the Punjab Assembly comes after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s announcement to set out on a long march against the government on October 31, which will culminate in the capital, where the party also plans to hold a sit-in.

    With Fazl repeatedly reminding the government of its promise to provide the protesters with said facilities, the resolution by the PML-N leader has also demanded the same.