Fazl calls Hakimullah a martyr, asks TTP to salvage peace effort

Published November 5, 2013
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. — File photo
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: In an astonishing exchange of questions and answers outside the Parliament House on Tuesday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed that “anyone killed at the hands of the United States” was “a martyr”, DawnNews reported.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl chief made the above remark in response to a question posed to him by media representatives as to whether Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a drone strike, qualified as a martyr.

Fazl criticised cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and said the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) chief should refrain from taking solo flights on the issue of blocking Nato supplies going through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The JUI-F said it had been decided in the All Parties Conference (APC) that all political groups would work in unison on the matter.

Rehman called out to members of the TTP and reiterated that they should not allow derailment of the peace process in the wake of Hakimullah’s killing. He also underscored the importance of calling another APC on the matter.

Separately, opposition parties have been divided on the issue of Nato supplies to US forces in Afghanistan via KP.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) favour the continuation of Nato supplies. On the other hand, PTI, JUI-F and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) maintain that blocking Nato supplies would be effective in putting an immediate stop to drone attacks.

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