JUI-F expresses ‘serious reservations’ over PTI, refuses to join any alliance

• JUI-F leader says his party will continue its “fight” on its own.
• Former minister seeks “impartial polls” in the country.
• “Our stand and reservations against PTI are serious”: Fazl.

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ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the party’s Majlis-e-Shura – the highest decision-making body – has decided not to join any alliance for now, while expressing “serious reservations ” against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) amid reports that both parties are on the verge of joining hands against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government.

Fazl’s party is meeting with the former ruling party after both sides described the February 8 elections as “rigged” and also expressed common concerns over the federal government’s policies on the economy and the threat of terrorism in the country.

The Imran Khan-founded party and the JUI-F have jointly opposed the Centre’s newly announced anti-militant operation Azm-e-Istehkam, expressing concerns that parliament has failed to win a vote of confidence in the matter.

In a meeting with senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser last week, Fazl agreed that military operation was not the solution to the problems.

They also agreed to jointly serve as opposition parties in the National Assembly, as well as to establish a political committee to resolve issues between them and formulate political strategy.

Both parties also took a firm stance on the February 8 general elections, demanding new and transparent elections to “restore” democracy in the country.

However, on Sunday, Fazl announced that his party’s highest decision-making body had decided to continue the “fight” solely within its own programme rather than wait for an opportunity to join an alliance.

“Our stand and reservations against PTI are very serious,” he said, adding that the decision-making body had analyzed the JUI-F’s meetings with other political parties and found them to be nothing more than a “political process”.

He said the committee found that the current central government did not have the “ability” to address the concerns.

“PTI lacks coherence”

Talking about the dialogue proposal, the veteran politician said his party would happily accept PTI if it was willing to hold talks.

However, he stated that the party still “lacks consistency,” he added.

“The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief has ruled out an alliance with the JUI-F. These are two contradictory opinions on which it is difficult for us to take a stance,” Fazl said, referring to a possible dialogue with the PTI and the allied party’s reluctance to hold talks.

The JUI-F chief further stated that various delegations were holding consultations on behalf of the imprisoned PTI founder but the party was yet to select a team that would lead the dialogue.

He said his party does not hesitate to create a “better political environment” and advocates a positive attitude towards its political rivals.

The politician asked PTI and SIC to dispel doubts regarding their position on conducting dialogue.

‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is incoherent’

Turning his guns towards the federal government, Fazl, who was the head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – a multi-party alliance mainly comprising the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued clarifications on the military action but “people do not know whom to trust”.

Even “Operation Azm-e-Istehkam” was “incoherent,” he added.

The government’s decision to launch the fresh operation was taken during a meeting of the Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP) earlier this month and was approved with the consent of all stakeholders, including the provinces, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

“The entire nation stands with the army when it comes to defending the country,” Fazl said, but questioned why the number of terror incidents has increased 10-fold despite several military operations.

Fazl calls for ‘unbiased polls’ in the country

He criticized his former ally PML-N, stating that the JUI-F cannot accept the results of the February 8 elections at any cost.

The JUI-F is among those opposing the poll results that saw the country’s two main parties – the PML-N and the PPP – along with other political parties form a coalition government at the Centre.

Fazl once again called for “impartial” nationwide elections, but labeled a US resolution calling for an investigation into alleged irregularities in Pakistan’s elections as interference.

JUI-F believes that the United States should stay out of Pakistan’s affairs, he added.