ISLAMABAD  -  Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) yesterday vowed to unite all opposition parties on a common platform to launch a joint struggle both inside and outside of parliament against the government.

In a meeting held at the residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the JUI-F called for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan. This comes after the 26th Constitutional Amendment, new legislation, and the formation of a seven-member constitutional bench. Earlier, PTI leader Asad Qaiser and Faisal Chaudhry held a meeting lasting more than two and a half hours with Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

After Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s return from his upcoming foreign tour, there is an agreement to unite all opposition parties on a common platform to launch a joint struggle against the government and its alleged ‘unconstitutional’ decisions, they said.

JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri and PTI Deputy Information Secretary Syed Hussain Akhundzada told the journalists that the two parties had identical views on ‘rushed’ legislation.

They strongly criticized the government, labelling its recent constitutional amendments as a betrayal of the Constitution and a violation of democratic principles.

Aslam Ghauri and Hassan Akhundzada said that Asad Qaiser and Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed concerns over the government’s broken promises during their meeting.

They accused the government of reaching an extreme level of “authoritarianism” and intentionally “provoking” the opposition.

Aslam Ghauri criticized the recent stance of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) as contrary to democratic values, rejecting the legislation passed by, what he called, a “fake mandated assembly.”

Hussain Akhundzada said Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded the release of PTI’s founding chairman and the provision of legal rights to him while in jail.

JUI-F’s Aslam Ghauri said baseless cases should not be filed against Imran Khan.

Questioned about the constitutional amendment that JUI-F had supported which led to the formation of the constitutional bench, Ghauri said many proposals were removed from the original draft through the negotiations, “which is a matter of give and take.”

He added that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was going on a foreign trip for a few days and practical steps will be taken after his return.