ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday condemned the government for hastily getting the FATF-related bills passed through the parliament and said it was due to weak governance and failed foreign policy that the government could not withstand the pressure of the FATF.

Speaking to media after a two-day meeting of JUI-F lawmakers and provincial chiefs, Maulana Fazl said that the JUI-F’s opposition to FATF-related bills was based on principles.

He said it was not for the first time that Pakistan had been put on the grey list as it had happened earlier, too, and Pakistan was cleared from it, but previous governments had not been blackmailed by the FATF.

“The JUI-F took a stand on the legislation passed in parliament and opposed these bills as we consider them anti-Pakistan bills,” the Maulana said, adding that parliamentarians were not even consulted over the matter.

Fazl calls the approved bills anti-Pakistan

He said the MMA and some other parties were excluded from consultation over these bills and it was against democracy, too.

The JUI-F chief said that Pakistan was making FATF-related laws only under pressure from India and its supporters around the world.

He raised the issue of Kashmir in the FATF laws recently passed by the parliament and said that it was due to the failure of diplomacy that Kashmir issue had been shelved.

“What will happen if the United Nations or the FATF declares Kashmir freedom fighters terrorists?” the Maulana asked, adding that “there is no provision in the law for rehabilitation of Kashmiri freedom fighters”.

The Maulana said that these legislations had been drafted by the incompetent government, adding that the government had failed to maintain a balance in international relations and due to failed diplomacy the government had not only annoyed Saudi Arabia, but also displeased China too over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The JUI-F chief also expressed displeasure over PPP and PML-N attitude, saying that both parties had not responded appropriately to the call for a meeting of Rehbar committee.

“We met Bilawal one day and Shahbaz Sharif the next day and it was decided to hold a meeting of Rehbar Committee after Eidul Azha,” the Maulana said, but the next day both parties voted for the government bills despite the fact that there was no need to get blackmailed by the government.

He said that key opposition parties were still in contact with the JUI-F and a multi-party conference would be held when JUI-F reservations and concerns were removed.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2020