LARKANA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that people have the right to run their country’s affairs whereas the establishment has to do its own job.

Addressing the 26th ‘Shaheed-i-Islam Conference’ — an annual party event to pay homage to its slain general secretary Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro — at the Municipal Stadium here on Thursday, he said “we are aware of the conspiracy to roll back the 18th Constitutional Amendment”. He said every province had the right on its resources and and said “we will not allow anyone to play with the rights of the nation”.

The JUI-F chief said: “World forces should understand that we have a history of fighting wars of independence in this subcontinent ... and today we announce we are going to wage a war”.

He repeated the opposition parties’ allegation that the [PTI] government came to power through rigging, and said this would only strengthen international monetary institutions. He referred to the brittle economy and soaring prices which, he said, had drastically affected people.

He also talked about the miseries of the “missing” persons and claimed that the country’s rulers had lost the confidence of China. “We apprehend that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is being rolled back”, he said.

He said Pakistan’s foreign policy had failed and it was facing isolation. “We will not ask ‘Niazi’ to go, but we now have to throw him out of powers,” he said.

Claims PTI govt has lost trust of China, apprehends CPEC is being rolled back

He said bringing the federal party in Gilgit-Baltistan indicated that the cause of Kashmir was buried. “But we will not permit any government to change our geography,” he added.

He said talking about peoples’ right was the name of democracy and “we are advancing with the spirit of jihad”. He said arrests in Multan were being made to stop PDM from holding its public meeting [on Nov 30].

“Gagging the Press is the sign of dictatorship and we stand by the media houses,” he said.

A number of resolutions were passed at the conference. One of them expressed grave concern over the price spiral and multiplied gas and power tariffs, and demanded the PTI-led government to step down. Another one criticised the government’s intention to raze a host of houses of poor people in Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad and Karachi on the pretext of encroachment removal. It asked the government to provide alternative shelters to the affected families before dismantling their houses.

Yet another resolution expressed solidarity with Kashmiris and condemned Indian atrocities. It demanded that the world should resolve the issue in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people.

One resolution strongly condemned restrictions on the Press and retrenchment of hundreds of employees from the Pakistan Steel, PIA and other institutions.

Another resolution severely criticised blasphemous caricatures and asked the government to sever ties with France over such unacceptable step of hurting Muslims feelings.

JUI-F general secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Maulana Abdul Qayoom Halejvi, Syed Siraj Ahmed Shah, Maulana Imtiaz Abbasi, MNAs Salahuddin Ayoubi and Syed Mehmood Shah, Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, Maulana Nasir Mehmood Soomro and a host of other leaders addressed the conference.

Grand Democratic Alliance MPA from Larkana Moazzam Ali Abbasi was sitting with the JUI-F chief and other leaders on the stage.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2020