Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Friday that a [reasonable] political and economic situation in the country was possible if all the institutions worked within their constitutional limits, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
“Any change in the attitudes of the institutions should be in line with the Constitution. It shouldn’t be like ‘I’m neutral and I’m not neutral’,” he stated while addressing a reception held in his honour by Balochistan High Court (BHC) in Quetta.
“Everyone has to work together to restore peace in the country so that economic goals could be achieved. The JUI, as per its manifesto, considers every province the owner of its resources,” he pointed out.
“In order to save the state of Pakistan, the rights of small provinces have to be accepted. Peace is indispensable for national stability. A comprehensive policy has to be formulated to make Pakistan stand on its own feet,” he stressed.
“It is practically impossible to create a new social contract. The international institutions have taken away the political and economic liberties of the people. The Holy Quran is the greatest guarantor of human rights. The world powers have set the standard of democracy according to their own likings,” he emphasised.
“We had already decided the apolitical role of the army. In our opinion, all citizens of Pakistan are equal. The announcement of becoming neutral is good to feel, but it needs implementation,” he averred.
“In the past, India’s attitude was cooperative, but that is not the case anymore. Pakistan is economically weak, and therefore, it is not capable of fighting a war,” he maintained.
“The army is an institution of the country, [and] we do not have a fight with it. Neutrality can be maintained if there is a balance between the institutions,” he pointed out.
“The Pakistan-China friendship was sabotaged in 2014 when it turned into an economic partnership. At that time, Pakistan had become isolated. We also need to review our relations with Iran and Afghanistan,” he added.