MANSEHRA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has opposed the idea of giving expatriate Pakistanis the right to vote declaring it a big conspiracy against the country’s existence.

“If we give expatriates the right to vote, it may cause a challenge to our peace and existence,” he told the ‘Ulema Convention’ here on Wednesday.

The JUI-F leader said his party was striving to bring about an Islamic revolution in the country through the people’s power. “The Islamic revolution is possible through the power of vote and not Kalashnikov and therefore, we have been following the peaceful way to bring about Islamic revolution in the country,” he said.

Mr Fazl said his party was protecting the country from infidels, who wanted to rule it through agents. He said the enforcement of Islamic laws was the answer to all issues facing the country, including militancy.

The JUI-F chief said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had miserably failed to deliver in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as during its tenure, the volume of the province’s local and foreign loans had increased from Rs87 billion to Rs300 billion.

“When the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal left the government in KP, there were only Rs87 billion loans, which have surged to over Rs300 billion in the PTI rule,” he claimed.

Mr Fazl lauded the ulema for rejecting the provincial government’s monthly stipend and said the grant of financial assistance to prayer leaders was a conspiracy hatched by Zionists through their agents led by Imran Khan to buy their loyalties.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2018