PESHAWAR: Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, has called upon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take parliament into confidence about the army chief’s visit to Afghanistan on Dec 27.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s secretariat on Sunday, he said the prime minister should explain whether or not Gen Raheel Sharif had proceeded to Kabul with his permission.

“I am sure that such high-level talks can’t take place without the prime minister’s consent,” the JUI-F chief said when informed that federal ministers had expressed their ignorance in the Senate about the outcome of Gen Raheel’s meetings in Kabul.

The army chief held talks with the Afghan leadership and reportedly offered Pakistan’s role in ending insurgency in that country.

Maulana Fazl said if Pakistan could play a role in reconciliation, the Afghan government should take advantage of it and come up with a positive response. It was a very positive approach by Pakistan for bringing peace to Afghanistan, he added.

He said tension between Pakistan and India had eased after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lahore last month. He said parliament should hold a candid debate on the country’s relations with Afghanistan and India.

CHANGES IN FATA: The Maulana said the proposed administrative and legal changes in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) should also come under discussion in parliament and urged the government to take the tribal people into confidence before making changes in the status of tribal areas.

He said the government should ensure a dignified return of internally displaced persons to Fata and rehabilitee them before going for administrative changes and reforms.

CPEC: The JUI-F chief said his party would soon convene an all-party conference on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Peshawar to address grievances of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. All stakeholders will be invited to the conference to develop a consensus on the project. There should be no politics on the project.

He said the government was bound to follow decisions of the APC held in Islamabad in May 2015 and construct CPEC’s western route along with all components, including railway track and gas and oil pipelines.

“The federal government should come forward and remove apprehensions of KP and Balochistan,” he said, adding: “I am not satisfied with the project in its present shape and expressed reservations over the plan in the presence of the prime minister during its inauguration ceremony in Zhob.”

“Instead of showing rigidness and controversies politicians should take soft stand on the project and go for solution,” he said.

When asked about the reaction of KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak who said his government would not allow the CPEC to pass through the province if the centre did not address its grievances, the JUI-F chief said: “Politicians should not play politics on this vital project.”

The federal government had very soft stance on the CPEC which would bring about economic prosperity in the region and its benefit should go to under-developed areas of the country, he added.

RANGERS’ POWERS: When asked about the ongoing tussle between the federal and Sindh governments over Rangers’ powers, the Maulana said the centre should take stance of the provincial government seriously and accept its constitutional right. It is the provincial assembly which will give extension to Rangers, and not the federal government.

But he said the Sindh government should not stop operation against criminals in Karachi for protecting a single person. The JUI-F chief said it was a fact that the law and order situation remarkably improved in Karachi after the paramilitary force had launched action against criminals. The operation, however, should not be against one political party or group, he added.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2016