ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Sunday announced that he will become a party in the petition filed by PML-Q leader Parvez Elahi against the ruling of Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

Addressing a press conference, the JUI-F chief said he would move a petition with the Supreme Court to become a party in the case.

Echoing the demand of two major parties in the PDM, the PPP and the PML-N, he also asked for the constitution of a full court of the Supreme Court to hear the petition.

Flanked by party leaders, including Akram Khan Durrani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, he said the party’s chief has the final authority to decide the party policy and all others office bearers (lawmakers) have to follow it.

“A party leader directs their parliamentary party even if they are not a member [of the house],” he said, adding that after the fiasco in the Punjab Assembly, a new discussion has started that only parliamentary leader has the authority to lead the party in the assembly.—APP

Our Correspondent adds: Separately, talking to reporters at his native village Abdul Khel in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, Maulana Fazl, who also heads Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), warned that the ruling coalition “will never accept any interference, be it soft or hard, in national affairs”.

His remarks came a day after some news channels reported that the establishment has offered “soft intervention” to resolve the current political crisis which has been brewing since former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted through a no confidence motion in April.

The PDM chief said that all State institutions should stay within limits and not exceed their constitutional jurisdiction.

He warned that if the institutions transgress their domain, it will create a crisis that the same institutions would be unable to control. Maulana Fazl said that parliament will take all decisions as per the Constitution “without being blackmailed or pressurised”. He also claimed that the courts and the “authorities” gave full and unconditional support to Mr Khan’s government but since the PDM came to the power, interference in parliamentary and administrative affairs has started.

While claiming that Imran Khan almost bankrupted the country, the PDM chief demanded that the government investigate the allegations of corruption during the PTI-led government and hold everyone accountable.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022