ISLAMABAD - The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is in no mode to trust or take support of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in his second phase of anti-government protests.
The JUI-F chief has decided to start a new phase of anti-government protests from Karachi on March 23. The sources in JUI-F informed The Nation that despite the attempts made by the PPP and PML-N to convince the Maulana for another joint protest against the government, JUI-F Chief was in no mode to trust both of them anymore.
The source further revealed that Maulana Fazl Rehman has delisted both of the parties from opposition’s formed Rehbar Committee due to their support for Army Chief Extension Bill and Maulana Fazl had termed them as real supporters of the government side.
It is important to mention that PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, on the direction of party leadership, had called on Fazlur Rehman in order to convince him to form another joint platform against the incumbent government, however, he failed to convince the Maulana.
According to the sources, the PPP senior leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had also called on Maulana Fazl Rehman in recent days for the purpose to convince Maulana to stage a joint protest against the government and he also failed to convince him.
According to the sources privy to the JUI-F, all opposition parties were united till last APC and both the big opposition parties had chance to keep the opposition united but they failed to do it and thus their ways were parted.
However, after they failed to reunite the rest of opposition parties the PML-N and PPP has decided to launch its protest movement against the government’s flawed economic policies with or without the support of other opposition political parties including JUI-F.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior leader of JUI-F informed The Nation that the split in the opposition ranks was the major success of ruling party and this split in opposition was caused due to the support of both these parties for the government on COAS extension bill.
On the other hand, senior leaders in PPP are of view that the split in opposition was firstly caused due to the meetings of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain during the JUI-F proposed Dharna.