PESHAWAR, March 29: The growing popularity of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf, which has already upset political heavyweights, is likely to force Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl to adopt a joint strategy to preempt the potential threat in the upcoming general elections.

A senior leader of JUI-F also hinted at alliance between the two parties in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the upcoming general elections, saying Maulana Fazlur Rehman had tilted towards Nawaz Sharif.

“PTI is the major factor, which is forcing leaderships of the two parties to come close in near future and chalk out a joint strategy,” he said, adding that Maulana and Nawaz Sharif pointed fingers at the establishment for propping up Imran Khan against them.

He said that PML-N provincial chief Pir Sabir Shah and Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan Abbasi, a close aide of Nawaz Sharif, had already approached JUI-F leaders to discuss cooperation between the two parties in future.

He said that the vote bank of PML-N and JUI-F could be harmed through Imran Khan in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that was why both the parties were under pressure to join hands against their common enemy (PTI).

“Instead of bearing coquetry of Jamaat-i-Islami, it’s better to develop cooperation with the PML-N,” he said, adding that JI was hard nut and JUI-F could not go with it for long.

He said that chances of revival of Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal had diminished because of persisting mistrust between JUI-F and JI. PML-N provincial general secretary Rehmat Salam Khattak and JUI-F information secretary Abdul Jalil Jan confirmed that working relationship between the two parties had improved and both sides had supported each other candidates in the recent Senate elections.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, considered a pragmatic politician, has opened several fronts for himself in domestic politics and he seems to be isolated. He is criticising the civil military establishment and the so-called Jewish lobby for allegedly patronising PTI.

He has launched onslaught against the ruling Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party and declared them agents of America.

At the same time Maulana Samiul Haq-led Difa-i-Pakistan Council is also on Maulana Rehman’s hit list. He terms DPC a brainchild of intelligence agencies.

“If this is Difa-i-Pakistan Council, then what is Afwaj-i-Pakistan (the army),” was Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s off the cuff remark during a recent press conference in Peshawar.

The bone of contention between JUI-F and DPC is that Maulana Rehman is a supporter of the status of ‘most favoured nation’ to India while the alliance’s leaders abhor bilateral trade with New Delhi.

Sources said that mentors of DPC had kept Maulana Rehman aloof from the alliance deliberately because they did not consider him suitable for it.

A leader of JUI-F, who had served as minister in the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal government, told this correspondent that intelligence agencies had created DPC, a conglomerate of 40 religious parties, jihadi outfits and retired military generals.

He said that DPC was non-electoral alliance and it could not pose threat to JUI-F in the elections.

However, he admitted that Imran Khan’s PTI could be used to divide vote bank of JUI-F and PML-N in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

The PTI chief had also stated that his party had focused on those two provinces for next elections.