Islamabad: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the country's leading right-wing Islamic leader, made a blistering attack on Pakistan's all-powerful establishment for allegedly rigging the political system and supporting the right of protest for its erstwhile rival Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He also drew parallels with India, saying it was aiming to become a superpower while Pakistan was "begging".
In a strong attack during his inaugural address at the National Assembly, the JUI-F chief attributed the nation's predicament to unseen forces orchestrating decisions from behind the scenes, reducing elected officials to mere puppets. "There are powers behind the walls controlling us, and they make decisions while we are just puppets," he claimed. He also accused the parliament of forsaking principles and "selling democracy".
"It is the right of the PTI to hold a rally. We also objected to the 2018 election and we object to this (February 8 polls) one too. If the 2018 poll was rigged, why is the current one not rigged?" said Rehman, urging to coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to allow PTI to form the government as it won a majority in the general elections.
'Pakistan is begging to avoid bankruptcy'
The cleric then expressed his dismay over the role of the establishment and bureaucracy in the election and running the country, saying that the elections held on February 8 were flawed. He also lamented the failure to implement recommendations from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), emphasising the importance of upholding Islamic principles.
"We got the country in the name of Islam, but today we have become a secular state. Since 1973, not a single recommendation of the CII has been implemented. How can we be an Islamic country?" he said. Rehman also said that Pakistan was begging the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy.
Drawing a sharp contrast with India, the JUI-F said, "Just compare India and ourselves... both countries got independence on the same day. But today they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy. Who is responsible for this?"
Highlighting the burden of national debt on every Pakistani, Rehman decried the stagnation plaguing the nation, asserting that such circumstances hinder progress. "We have made our country a victim of stagnation, such nations cannot progress," he added, while also questioning whether the newly-elected parliament represents the will of the people.
The JUI-F was the arch-rival of PTI and had spearheaded the move for the ouster of Imran Khan. After his downfall, JUI-F became part of the coalition government. However, he parted ways with the PML-N and PPP after the elections as he alleged that the polls were rigged to keep his party out of power. It has been speculated that Rehman is putting pressure on the Army and the coalition government to cut a deal that will get him a bigger share in the political arena of Pakistan.
Pakistan-India relations
Recent reports have indicated that Pakistan is looking at the resumption of trade ties with India after a prolonged period of hostile relations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India had "never closed doors to talking to Pakistan" but the issue of cross-border terrorism should be "fair, square at the centre of the conversation". When he was asked if there could be a conversation with the Pakistani military, Jaishankar brushed it off and said “it doesn’t work like that”.
Recently, Maryam Nawaz, the first woman Chief Minister in Pakistan's Punjab province, initiated a surprisingly warm outreach by the new government by arguing for enhanced relations with India, while addressing Indian Sikhs at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara. During her first official state-level celebrations at the corridor, Maryam echoed her father Nawaz Sharif's statement and said Pakistan should not fight with its neighbours.
Maryam met a group of Sikh pilgrims, mostly from India, as the holy Gurdwara welcomed some 2,400 Sikhs from all over the world visiting Pakistan to attend Baisakhi festivities. Addressing the gathering at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, she said, "We should not fight with our neighbours. We need to open our hearts for them".
(with inputs from agencies)
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