Trust politicians and let them talk, says Fazl

Express Tribune

17-02-2025

ISLAMABAD:
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has proposed a plan to bring the country out of its current predicament – hand over the country to the politicians and let them talk to each other, and trust the civilians in running the affairs of the state.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, Fazl painted a difficult scenario of the country, saying that the government had lost it writ in two provinces, and so much so that the even the prime minister did not know that jirgas were going to Afghanistan.
At present, Fazl said, there was no civilian authority in the country and there was no ideological politics either. The establishment took the decisions and the government rubber-stamped the decisions taken in closed rooms.
"Hand over the country to the politicians, and let them talk. If politicians are not allowed to talk to each other, how will the country run? Trust the civilian leadership," the JUI-F chief told the house. "The path of negotiations should be adopted and the path to war should be shut," he said.
"The government should admit that it has no writ in the two provinces. In many areas of K-P (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) and Balochistan, the police had already evacuated the check posts. Now the other security forces have also evacuated," he added.
The JUI-F chief said that there are six or seven districts of Balochistan and "if they declare their independence today" the United Nations would recognise them. In the present scenario, he warned, the country could lose its part.
Firing a broadside against the government, he charged that the prime minister did not know about the Jirgas [tribal delegations] going to Afghanistan. "The assemblies are not representatives of the people and no public representative or minister is in a position to face the people," he said.
He said that the government might lash out at Afghanistan out of anger, but it was not willing to look at its own deeds. He asked which atrocity had not been committed against the people of Afghanistan, and yet "we considered them to be supporters of Pakistan", he asked.
Before the elections last year, Fazl said, he had a successful visit to Afghanistan but process initiated by him was stopped. "I went to Afghanistan. I spoke to them, which [the meeting] was very positive," he said. "Who sabotaged the positive talks with Afghanistan?"
In a further criticism of the government, Fazl said that the decisions about the country were being taken in the Security Council, while the national economy had been handed over to the international organisations.
"IMF [International Monetary Fund] delegations are coming every day. The IMF meets the chief justice, the Supreme Court Bar. What the IMF has to do with the judiciary? In defence matters, we have the bombs and missiles but the authority to use them will be with international organisations."
He also accused the government of betrayal on the madrassa bill. "The madrassa bill was passed during the 26th Amendment, but the president said expressed reservations. Then it was passed by the Centre, and not it was being stalled by the provinces."
Referring to the situation in Gaza and the plans of the US president Donald Trump to evacuate it, Fazl warned that the US president might not "stop at Gaza rather he can occupy Waziristan tomorrow". He stressed the need for the house to take important decisions with collective wisdom.
In response, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said the JUI-F chief was asking for talks with those people who backed out on their own words, adding that they want release of prisoners from jails. However, instead of listening to the law minister, the entire opposition, including the JUI-F walked out of the house.