MANSEHRA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday declared that their jihad against Imran Khan would continue so that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman did not come to power again.

“We have been waging jihad against Fitna (Imran) Khan for the last fifteen years and I warn you that if he regained power his government would shatter the country’s economy and weaken our defence forces in the same way as it did when he became prime minister through stolen mandate,” said the JUI-F chief while speaking at a rally.

Maulana Fazl, who also heads the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement, said the PDM government was the saviour of the country. “Pakistan was on the verge of bankruptcy during this Zionist agent’s four-year tenure in office but we expelled him out of power and pulled the country out of the political and economic crisis,” he recalled.

He said it was because of the present administration’s good governance and policies that the country had come out of the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.

JUI-F chief terms PDM govt ‘saviour’ of country

“A national government was the need of the hour to pull the country out of the political and economic crisis and put it on the path to prosperity and stability and we did it,” he said. “Saudi Arabia and China are our time-tested friends but the ex-premier left no stone unturned to make them angry through his anti-country policies and actions,” he said.

The Maulana said PTI’s long march was a flop show, adding it would not be able to force the government to change its strategy towards dealing with Imran Khan’s politics.

He said the ‘handful’ of PTI workers attending the march would return back empty-handed after enjoying the “music and dance” at the rally.

In reference to the Toshakhana case, Mr Rehman said an honest leader could never steal a watch gifted by the leadership of a Muslim country as a symbol of brotherly relations. “Imran Khan, who frequently speaks of his honesty and Shariah, stole the Saudi Arabia-gifted watch and sold it; such an imposter cannot claim to be the ummah’s leader,” he said.

While mentioning the prohibited funding case against PTI, Maulana Fazl pointed out that the illegal practice had not been exposed by any politician. Rather, he said, it was a founder member of the PTI and the Election Commission of Pakistan that established that Israelis, Americans and Indian companies and individuals had transferred funds into PTI and Imran Khan’s bank accounts.

“This indicates that Fitna Khan is a Zionist agent as dollars into his and his party’s accounts had been transferred by only those companies that are working to safeguard Israel’s interests so that more and more Muslim countries accept it,” he alleged.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2022