Tag: JUI-F

  • Maulana tells workers to continue long march preps despite PDM falling out

    Maulana tells workers to continue long march preps despite PDM falling out

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has directed the party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chapter to continue preparations for the March 26 long march to Islamabad, reports said Thursday.

    A letter was written to the party’s KP leadership on Fazl’s directives, directing the leaders not to slow down the preparations. The letter said the long march has only been postponed until Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) makes its decision on the march.

    Nine of the 11 component parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) are ready to participate in the long march while PPP has sought time to make a final decision concerning en masse resignations, the letter said.

    The development comes two days after the opposition alliance announced to postpone the long march after PPP linked its resignations from the legislative assemblies with deposed prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif’s return — a condition PML-N termed out of the question.

    “Nine parties [of PDM] were in favour of resignations along with the long march but PPP had expressed some reservations,” Fazl told reporters on Tuesday, adding the PPP would discuss the matter during its upcoming central executive committee (CEC) meeting.

    A day earlier, Fazl held a telephonic conversation with Nawaz and urged him to return to Pakistan, saying with top PML-N leadership living abroad in self-exile, it was difficult to execute decisions taken by the opposition alliance.

    After spending a year in prison, Nawaz, 71, secured a conditional bail in November 2019 to travel to London on the pretext of medical treatment and has since refused to return.

    His party insists that despite being summoned by the courts, which declared him a proclaimed offender in multiple corruption trials, the former premier will only return after the completion of his medical treatment.

  • Government offers Senate deputy chairmanship to JUI-F

    The PTI government has offered the post of Senate deputy chairman to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F). Defence Minister Pervez Khattak says he offered the position of deputy chairman Senate to JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri. 

    JUI-F, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, is part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Reports indicate that PDM will offer deputy chairman slot to JUI-F and Leader of Opposition in Senate to the PML-N. However, these decisions have not been officially announced. PDM has officially nominated Yousaf Raza Gilani as its joint candidate for Senate chairman. Haideri said that he cannot predict who will become Senate Chairman on March 12. He also said that he has not been informed about PDM’s decision about candidates for the slot of deputy chairman.

    Maulana Ghafoor Haideri told the media that he condemns the government ministers’ discussion about this issue. “We don’t accept this government so there is absolutely no standing of any offer from this government,” Haideri added.

  • Benazir’s death anniversary: Fazl refuses to attend PPP rally in Garhi Khuda Baksh

    Benazir’s death anniversary: Fazl refuses to attend PPP rally in Garhi Khuda Baksh

    Amid speculations of rifts in the Pakistan Democratic Movement, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman has declined an invitation by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to attend a rally in Garhi Khuda Baksh on Dec 27.

    Instead of Fazl, who also heads the PDM, a five-member delegation of the party will attend the gathering that marks the death anniversary of slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto, reported Dunya TV.

    The refusal to attend the gathering by Fazl comes at a time when the JUI-F is facing internal turmoil following the expulsion of its top leaders, including Maulana Sheerani, who questioned the JUI-F’s commitment to the party.

    Similarly, the JUI-F and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are not happy with the PPP. They believe that the PPP was in contact with the powers-that-be to reach a deal. “Both parties are not reacting to this development because of the alliance, but the PPP has been told that if it wants to gain results via backdoor talks, it can go ahead,” said a senior journalist recently.

    Meanwhile, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has reached Naudero House to attend the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto. The PPP chief will stay in Naudero for three days and will address a rally in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on December 27.

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz will also attend the rally on the invitation of Bilawal. Both opposition leaders will hold a meeting at Bilawal House, Naudero.

  • Senior journalist says PPP ‘creating problems’ for PDM, may quit Opp alliance

    Senior journalist says PPP ‘creating problems’ for PDM, may quit Opp alliance

    It seems the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is in two minds about staying in the Pakistan Democratic Movement because the party is allegedly responsible for holding the anti-government movement back over its key demands, claims senior journalist Saleem Safi.

    Speaking in Geo TV’s Shahzeb Khanzada show, Safi said the PPP was “creating problems” for the PDM by not agreeing to mass resignations and the long march towards Islamabad. Instead, it wanted to hold small rallies in different cities of Pakistan to “buy more time”, he claimed.

    He said that both Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) believe that the PPP was in contact with the powers-that-be to reach a deal. “Both parties are not reacting to this development because of the alliance, but the PPP has been told that if it wants to gain results via backdoor talks, it can go ahead,” he claimed, adding that PML-N and JUI-F are not happy with the PPP.

    According to Safi, the PPP was at the forefront when the PDM was formed, but the party has been gradually moving away from the 11-party alliance. He said the statement by PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari –in response to PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif taking names of the army chief and intelligence chief in a jalsa — wherein he expressed shock was a part of a well-thought strategy. “Bilawal gave this statement to appease the establishment and distance the PPP from the PML-N,” he claimed.

    The senior journalist further claimed that the opposition parties wanted to resign in December and hold a sit-in in Islamabad, but this idea, too, was opposed by the PPP.

    He said the PPP’s decision to participate in the by-polls has also damaged the cause of the PDM and the Election Commission of Pakistan decided to hold bypolls on the vacant seats following the insistence of the PPP.

    Safi further said that the PDM leadership knows that if the PPP ditches the PDM after signing the resignation letters then the party will be reduced to just one province, Sindh.

    “Maulana Fazl thinks that PPP will not give up its status as a national party to save its skin and will remain a part of the PDM,” he added.

  • KYA BOLA? (Nov 30): ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’, ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’, ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Ap Ko Bhi Ijazat Ha’

    KYA BOLA? (Nov 30): ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’, ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’, ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Ap Ko Bhi Ijazat Ha’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on November 30, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘NAB Ki Shikayat’

    Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla has approached the prime minister and the army chief against NAB, reported Daily Jang. “Parliamentarians mushkilaat ka shikaar hain, band Kamron mai logon ko zaleel kiya jata ha, NAB officers ky assasy awam ky samny laon ga,” said Mandviwalla.

    ‘Phly Corruption Aur Ab Corona’

    Punjab CM Usman Buzdar has blamed the opposition for second wave of coronavirus, reported Dunya News. Buzdar was reported as saying: “Corona taqreeban khatam hony ky qareeb tha, opposition ki bad-tadbeeri ny dobara zindagi di. Mustarrad-shuda annasir ny phly corruption ka virus phelaya aur ab ye coronavirus phela rahy hain.”

    ‘Police Danda Uthaye Tou Kaarkunan Ko Bhi Ijazat’

    JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said PDM rally in Multan will be held at all cost and use of violence will be met with violence, reported Daily Jang. Fazl was quoted as saying: “Kaarkun tammam rukawatin torr kr Multan jalsy mai shirkat karin. Agar police danda istemaal kary tou aap ko bhi danda istemaal karny ki ijazat ha.”

  • JUI-F lawmaker threatens to blow up assembly with a bomb, gets suspended

    JUI-F lawmaker threatens to blow up assembly with a bomb, gets suspended

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani has suspended Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) MPA Hafiz Issamuddin and gotten him escorted out of the provincial house after the latter threatened to blow up the assembly with a bomb.

    A resolution condemning the JUI-F leader’s statement was also passed by the KP Assembly, which was supported even by the Awami National Party (ANP) of the opposition, reports said.

    Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and KP’s Labour Minister Shaukat Yousafzai had sought action against Issamuddin for his statement, complaining that the speaker had not taken any by himself.

    “Why are [party] tickets awarded to people who threaten to target the house with suicide bombings if some issue stands unresolved?” he had asked.

    While some of Issamuddin’s colleagues tried to defend his statement, saying that he was driven by emotions while speaking for his constituents and their problems, others resorted to protesting on the floor of the house and creating ruckus to stop the JUI-F leader from being escorted out of the assembly.

    However, their attempts failed due to adjournment of the session that was later boycotted by the JUI-F.

    Issamuddin was elected to the provincial house from PK-113 South Waziristan-I.

  • VIDEO: Zartaj Gul walks out of live show over JUI-F leader’s ‘disgusting’ remarks about her

    VIDEO: Zartaj Gul walks out of live show over JUI-F leader’s ‘disgusting’ remarks about her

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has staged a walkout on live television to protest the “disgusting” remarks of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah against her.

    In a clip of the show from earlier this week, the minister can be seen expressing her disgust over what the JUI-F leader said regarding her in Pashto, in a video that went viral on Tuesday. “Such people, who do not respect women, should be boycotted by the society,” Gul tells the host of the private media outlet’s talk show before walking out in protest.

    She can also be heard urging media outlets to not invite people like Hamdullah to their talk shows, regretting that the JUI-F leader had spoken about a respectable woman such as herself, who was respected by men even in her conservative constituency of Dera Ghazi Khan.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “I don’t know if you know Pashto. But I didn’t say anything like that. She is like a sister to me. I have sisters and daughters… all women are like sisters to me,” Hamdullah tells the host after Gul’s walkout, when the anchorperson gives him a chance to explain his position and apologise if he had made those remarks.

    “The mood in which I spoke, I state under oath, I didn’t speak in a way as if I disrespect her,” Hamdullah responded. “Why would I? What issue do I have with her?

    “But despite all this… if she was hurt, then I apologise for that,” the JUI-F leader said. “I would not disrespect her even if she abused me.”

    The anchorperson praised the JUI-F leader for apologising to Gul. He, however, politely asked Hamdullah to quit the show as well.

    Meanwhile, sources informed The Current that Gul’s strong reaction had come in response to Hamdullah mocking her in a viral video, saying that his smile was great too. In an interview last month, Gul had praised Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, saying that “the world knows of his killer smile that pulls people out of crises”.

  • Imran wants treason case against Fazl ‘for trying to topple PTI govt’

    Imran wants treason case against Fazl ‘for trying to topple PTI govt’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan reportedly wants Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman tried under Article 6 of the Constitution “for trying to topple the government” back in November last year.

    According to media reports as well as some senior journalists, including Kamran Yousaf and Arshad Waheed Chaudhry, the premier wants Fazl tried under Article 6 — high treason — for the anti-government rally, dubbed by the JUI-F as ‘Azadi March’, towards Islamabad.

    While the rather disappointing finale of the Azadi March came just 18 days after it was launched, and without any of Fazl’s principal demands met, reports claim that PM Imran wants the leader of the religiopolitical party tried for trying to destabilise the country by ousting his government.

    Meanwhile, Twitterati are reminding Imran about his own infamous 126-day sit-in from 2014, when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had locked down Islamabad to oust the government of then PM Nawaz Sharif.

    JUI-F’S AZADI MARCH:

    Fazl had in June 2019 announced that his party would hold a long march towards Islamabad in the month of October. Four months later, the JUI-F chief had set October 27 as the date of the Azadi march but later deferred it to October 31.

    The JUI-F chief had demanded PM Imran’s resignation, blaming the premier for the country’s economic woes and other troubles. The PM, on the other hand, had said that Fazl’s march had a “special agenda”.

    Initially, other opposition parties had objected to the unilateral announcement about the Azadi March, but later extended their support to Fazl when he had taken them into confidence. The government had warned the opposition that anyone who tried to take the law into their hands would be dealt with strictly.

    ARTICLE 6:

    Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan, under which former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf has also been found guilty, states: 

    “Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”

    The second clause adds that any person aiding, abetting or collaborating in the acts will also be considered guilty of high treason, while clause 2A says that an act of high treason cannot be validated by any court, including the Supreme Court (SC) and a high court.

  • 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.

  • JUI-F’s Mufti Kifayatullah injured in attempt on life

    JUI-F’s Mufti Kifayatullah injured in attempt on life

    Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s (JUI-F) senior leader Mufti Kifayatullah was injured in an assassination attempt near Mansehra Interchange on Wednesday morning, Geo News reported. 

    According to the details, Kifayatullah along with his two sons and a companion were travelling to Mansehra from Islamabad when another vehicle hit their car from behind and stopped it near Mansehra Interchange.

    The attackers tried to pull the JUI-F leader from his car and attacked them with iron rods, leaving all inhabitants of the car wounded.

    Mufti and the others were later shifted to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital Mansehra for treatment. 

    Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the attack.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s former wife Reham Khan has condemned the attack and said, “If the culprits behind this attack are not arrested immediately we will consider that the incumbent government is itself involved in this attack”.