Fawad ‘condemns’ Fazl’s remarks about country’s defence capability

Published April 29, 2021
This file photo shows Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry (left) and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. — DawnNewsTV/File
This file photo shows Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry (left) and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. — DawnNewsTV/File

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has strongly condemned a speech by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Reh­man, in which he claimed that “we are not capable of fighting for 24 hours”.

The minister in a rejoinder on Wednesday termed the Maulana’s remarks as tantamount to “insulting” the martyrs, who had sacrificed their lives in war against terrorism and for the security of the motherland.

“Attacking the national institutions for political reasons is highly reprehensible,” said the minister.

He said the “aging leader” of the JUI-F could not probably bear his “disrespect” at Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and had started talking on issues about which he knew nothing.

Advising the JUI-F chief to avoid giving such “irresponsible statements,” the minister recalled that it was the Maulana who had expressed scepticism about Pakistan’s defence capabilities by stating that the Taliban had reached the hills near the federal capital.

Mr Chaudhry said his “misplaced suspicions” were dispelled by Pakistan’s valiant armed forces and law enforcement agencies by breaking the back of the terrorists.

“It is better for the Maulana not to cast such unfounded doubts on the matters of national interest only to satisfy his political ego,” he said.

“Where was the Maulana when Pakistan had responded to the Indian aggression on February 27, 2019?” he asked in an apparent reference to the downing of an Indian aircraft and the capture of the pilot.

Mr Chaudhry wished that the Maulana should have expressed concern about innocent Kashmiris facing Indian brutalities when his “friend” Nawaz Sharif was embracing his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Raiwind.

Lashing out at the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement, the minister said any alliance, which was ever led by the Maulana till today, could not “fight” for even 12 hours.

The minister’s statement came hours after a speech delivered by Maulana Fazl at a gathering at his residence in which he criticised the chief of the army staff for reportedly holding a “secret briefing” with the TV anchors.

The Maulana had expressed his concern over reports that Pakistan and India were holding secret talks in the UAE. He alleged that Pakistan had adopted a reconciliation policy towards India because the country could not fight with the enemy due to weak economy and later he said that “we cannot fight for even 24 hours”.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Stirring trouble
Updated 08 Dec, 2024

Stirring trouble

The demands put forth this time are simple and doable at little political cost.
Unfairness in cricket
08 Dec, 2024

Unfairness in cricket

HOPES that cricketing ties between Pakistan and India would be strengthened by the latter team’s visit across the...
Syria rebel advance
08 Dec, 2024

Syria rebel advance

CITY after city in Syria is falling into rebel hands as Bashar al-Assad’s government looks increasingly vulnerable...
Threat perception
Updated 07 Dec, 2024

Threat perception

Despite clear proof of the threat posed by malign armed actors, the military and civilian leadership prefers to focus on political opponents.
Humanity at risk
07 Dec, 2024

Humanity at risk

HUMAN trafficking continues to remain an area where the state has utterly failed its citizens. While global...
Banks and larger goals
07 Dec, 2024

Banks and larger goals

THAT banks in Pakistan “prioritise profit over purpose” and promote financial products with limited knowledge of...