ISLAMABAD - After failing to get its concerns duly addressed by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz the junior coalition partner in the federal government Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-Fazl) is looking for other political options and allies for future alliance in the next general elections.
Sources aware of the developments taking place on this front, informed The Nation that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was not comfortable with JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman since the last Senate elections, wherein the JUI-F had taken side with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and it was due to this alliance between the JUI-F with the PPP, which cost the ruling PML-N the slot of chairman Senate.
Sources in the JUI-F informed The Nation that the party was seriously considering other options for future political alliances as in the given circumstances the chances of the JUI-F, the PML-N going hand-in-hand in the next general elections seemed minimal.
It was in this backdrop that JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was engaging with other political players in the country and the telephonic contact between the JUI-F chief with the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah was seen in the same backdrop.
On face of it, the JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, had invited Syed Khursheed Shah to attend the lunch he had planned in honour of the ambassadors of the Islamic countries on April 3rd but he also discussed other issues with Shah.
These sources said that in the coming days the JUI-F chief would again be meeting with the PPP-P President Asif Ali Zardari, with whom he had very good working relations in the last PPP government at the federal level.
Sources in the JUI-F said that if the PML-N leadership had complaints against them they too had a long list of concerns against the government, which according to them had fallen far short of the promises they had made at the time of taking the JUI-F in coalition government.
These sources said that be it the matter of giving them share in the ministerial slots or the passage of 21st constitutional amendments or issues relating to seminaries reforms, the PML-N leadership had never addressed their concerns and ditched them on all the major issues.
Sources further said that it was the JUI-F, which was keeping the partnership with the government intact, and there was no effort on the part of the ruling PML-N to keep them along as on all the major issues the government had ignored their point-of-view.
Sources in the JUI-F said that the party leadership was keeping its options open and besides PPP the option of religious parties’ alliance on the pattern of defunct Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal was also on the table and the party chief would likely be meeting with the heads of other religious parties in the second half of April.
These sources said that the JUI-F could part ways with the government but it was too early to say something with certainty on the subject but the final decision on staying part of the government or to quit the coalition would be made by the central Shura of the party.