QUETTA, Jan 23: A dissident group has emerged in the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam in Balochistan.

The group rejects armed struggle against the state and says that a change in society is possible through parliament. However, it maintains that the Taliban in Afghanistan have the right to wage armed resistance to liberate their country from occupation troops.

The dissidents who have named their factions JUI-Ideological and say they will ‘reform’ the party in the province.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s district office here on Wednesday, the faction’s provincial convener Maulana Asmatullah refuted an allegation levelled by Balochistan’s Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Mohammad Sherani that the Ideological group wanted to create a Waziristan- and Swat-like situation in Balochistan.

Maulana Asmatullah announced that the group would contest the election against JUI’s candidates led by Maulana Sherani.

He said his group had formed a 15-member provincial coun-cil.

Maulana Asmatullah also said that his group had confidence in the leadership of JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman but it wanted to expose what he called the ‘opportunist and corrupt people’ led by Maulana Sherani.

He said differences within the party had existed for about 10 years, but his followers had now decided to come out publicly as corruption by the party’s ministers in the previous coalition government in Balochistan had tarnished Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s image.

He disagreed with a suggestion that a contest between candidates of the two JUI groups would help the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) in the Feb 18 poll.

Answering a question, he said the JUI-Ideological was again taking up arms against the state because it believed that democratic and peaceful means and parliament should be used to bring about a change.

However, he emphasised that Taliban in Afghanistan, Hamas in occupied Palestine and freedom fighters in occupied Kashmir had the right to adopt the path of Jihad.