ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam - Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman on Monday said the military action in the North Waziristan tribal region was being conducted simply for purposes of exacting revenge.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the JUI-F chief said the government should explain how the military convoy was attacked in the tribal region despite a curfew being in place.

Rehman added that the action in North Waziristan was "against the tribal people" and claimed that 65 people killed in the action were innocent civilians.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), the JUI-F chief said Imran Khan's party was staging the sit-ins only to keep its politics alive and without achieving any meaningful results, adding that those who have brought PTI to power "should now be prepared to handle it".

Responding to a question on an upsurge in sectarian violence in the country, Rehman said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should directly intervene in bringing it to a stop.

The JUI-F chief, who recently returned from a trip to India, told reporters that he had made it clear to the Indian leadership that a self-reliant and independent Kashmir was neither in India's favour nor in Pakistan's, adding that if the Kashmiris are disappointed in both countries, they would want to move towards independence. — DawnNews