Speaking on Geo News show ‘Jirga’, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman talked about his recent meeting with a PTI delegation. He said that in Pashtun culture, one did not turn away guests.

“This is not the first time PTI people came. They have come before as well. We have always given them respect,” he said, Fazl further said that a “culture” had developed where meetings between two sides were automatically termed an “alliance”.

He said that the JUI-F had reservations about the election results in the country. “In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we have reservations concerning the PTI,” he said. He added that this stance was also presented to the PTI delegation.

Noting the difference between the two parties, Fazl equated them to “mountains” and said that they were not easy to overcome.

“We are firm on our stance, they are firm on their stance,” he said, adding that there was no alliance between the two.

“But if them coming and talking to us, creates an environment where talks take place, and after those talks we go towards solving problems; we are political people and a political person never says no to talks,” he said.

Commenting on the Feb 8 polls, he asked, “How can we accept such an election from which so many anomalies have arisen?”