JUI-F chief denies any contact for 'third alliance

ISLAMABAD - Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazalur Rehman stated Wednesday that no body has so far contacted JUI-F for a proposed third alliance. With his usual smile on his face Fazalur Rehman remarked, We did hear about proposals of a third alliance but no one has got in touch with me or with my party in this connection. During a brief interaction with this correspondent at an Iftar party given by Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Muhammad Khan Sheerani at a local hotel, Fazl said, Our concern is peace in Karachi. When asked that whether Muttahida Qaumi Movements rejoining the PPP-led coalition could bring peace to Karachi, he commented, If the MQMs rejoining restores peace, people would think that the MQMs absence from the government was main cause of disorder in the port city. He said he nurtures no personal grudge with President Asif Ali Zardari but differences do exist between the PPP-led coalition and the JUI-F over several national issues. He offered no comment on the demand of new provinces. CII chairman Muhammad Sheerani later told this scribe that if the people demand new administrative units, the way for it is constitutional amendment and not some executive order.