PESHAWAR, Jan 16: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that a fractious opposition could not form a national government, warning that delay in elections would be unacceptable to politicians.

Talking to journalists at residence of the city district nazim Ghulam Ali on Wednesday, the JUI-F leader said: “Political parties did not form a united opposition against the regime and they cannot manage to set up a national government.”

Any delay in the general election scheduled for Feb 18 would put the country into turmoil, he said.

He added that those political parties which were participating in the general elections should avoid government proposals to form caretaker national government.

He was of the view that like-minded parties could form national government after the elections.

In reply to a question, Maulana Fazl said that he did not see any threat to his life as the NWFP government was providing adequate security to him, but the Punjab government offered him safety on payment.

He said that due to wrong and irrational policies of the Musharraf-led government, the whole country was under the grip of insecurity and every citizen felt unsafe.

He said that the government was pitting jehadi forces against religious parties.

Amanullah Kasi adds from Quetta: A reconciliatory committee of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam has failed to resolve differences between two factions of the party in Balochistan.

Differences had emerged in the JUI between its Amir Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani and former MNA Maulana Noor Mohammad |over the party’s manifesto and the issue of supporting the Taliban.

The rift had surfaced during the party’s provincial elections in August last year and the group had defeated the faction led by Maulana Sherani had defeated the faction headed by Noor Mohammad and Hafiz Hussain Ahmed.

After distribution of party tickets for the coming elections, the group led by Maulana Noor complained that new entrants had been preferred over old guards.

The group named itself the JUI (Ideological) and fielded its candidates in various constituencies, especially in the Pakhtun-majority areas. A meeting of the Shoora held on Jan 8 in Dera Ismail Khan held a four-member committee headed by Naib Amir Maulana Amanullah to bring about a reconciliation between the two groups.

The committee met representatives of the two groups separately in Quetta and Zhob and announced on Wednesday that the talks had failed.

It is learnt that the ‘Ideological’ group rejected the committee’s proposal to withdraw its candidates, ignoring the threat of suspension of the membership of the party.