Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) general secretary Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri condemning the government's attempts to pass a bill under duress has warned that such action would mark one of the darkest days in Pakistan's history.
In a speech during the national assembly session Friday, he asserted that the country has long endured oppression, from the era of Ayub Khan to the present.
He condemned the abduction of opposition members, calling it a disgrace and an affront to the democratic process.
"It is shameful that on one hand, there are talks of negotiations and understanding, while on the other, opposition members are being abducted and misbehaved," he remarked.
Expressing his outrage, the JUI general secretary revealed that a member of his own party had been kidnapped, along with two members of the Balochistan National Party (BNP).
"How disgraceful it is that you are securing votes for a constitutional amendment through such means," he added.
The opposition leader lamented that what the government was engaging in was not democracy, but fascism.
"Is this democracy, or is this fascism?" he questioned, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
He also drew attention to the worsening state of affairs across the country. "Balochistan is burning, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is burning, and there is devastation everywhere," he said.
He painted a grim picture of the law and order situation in Sindh, stating that the provincial government had been rendered helpless by the rise of bandit gangs in the Kacha areas.
"The Sindh government has been left powerless by these criminals," he remarked, emphasizing that the situation was spiraling out of control.
Haideri questioned the government’s methods, stating, “If you pass the bill this way, it will be remembered as the blackest day in Pakistan’s history.
How are you running this country?” He likened the current government’s actions to the dictatorial regimes of Ayub Khan, Zia-ul-Haq, Yahya Khan, and Pervez Musharraf, which JUI and other democratic forces had always challenged.
Maulana Haideri expressed deep outrage over the alleged abduction of parliament members, accusing the government of resorting to force to secure votes.
"If our members are kidnapped in this manner, I am telling you clearly—we will not give coerced votes. Even if we are torn into pieces, we will not give in to forced voting," he declared, calling for the immediate release of those allegedly abducted.
Haideri claimed that members were being offered vast sums to secure their support for the bill.
"A price of 500 million rupees has been placed on each member," he alleged, emphasizing that such tactics would not succeed in compelling parliamentarians to vote against their will.
Haideri condemned the government's behavior, stating, "On the one hand, you ask for votes, and on the other, you abduct members. This is unacceptable."
He warned the ruling party that if they continued to push the bill through coercion or force, they would face mass protests.