Maulana Fazlur Rehman Advises Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Against Emergency or Governor’s Rule in KP; PM Stresses Talks and March Cannot Run Concurrently
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had a telephonic meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman after an important consultative meeting to analyse the current political situation in the country.
Sources close to the talks say the two leaders had an in-depth discussion on the “negotiation deadlock, political tensions and the long march of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)”. In the call Maulana Fazlur Rehman once again expressed his desire to actively mediate for mutual understanding to reach a resolution on the issues.
The PM and JUI-F Chief had key highlights of the telephonic contact.
In Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s view, the Prime Minister should not impose any emergency or Governor’s Rule – if he does, severe political damage will be done to the ruling parties – in KP.
PM’s Assessment on Counter-Terrorism: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his appreciation for the political sagacity of JUI-F chief, and called on him to avoid entangling himself in the drama of the protest. He said the federal government was keen to address the problems through dialogue, while the KP government failed to cooperate in war on terror operations, which ultimately prevented any talks from succeeding, adding that compromises or negligence on the war on terror were not acceptable.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for Restraint and Return to Dialogue, saying to federal government and PTI, negotiations should be given another chance. On the other hand, Prime Minister has said that the government is pro-dialogue, but it will not accept the behaviour of marching on Islamabad and urges PTI to cancel its long march and enter negotiations.
Stance on Economy and Stability: “Political agitation and structured negotiations are not possible to exist side by side. The government has brought the national economy out of very critical conditions and is fully dedicated to the maintenance of domestic, political and economic stability.
While ending the contact, Maulana Fazlur Rehman reassured the Prime Minister of his full cooperation in defusing political tensions, and pledged to keep in active touch through the back door among the key political stakeholders.