Don’t hope too much if election held in current circumstances: Fazl

Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman has said there should not be too much hope if elections are held in the current circumstances, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Friday.

In an informal talk, Fazlur Rehman listed his party feats for democracy and national cohesion. Even after many movements including MRD, it seems that democracy has become weak, he said.

The JUI chief said: “We politicians have our weaknesses. We too committed mistakes. We are too responsible for weak democracy.”

To a question, he said if an institution wants to be powerful, it is an unconstitutional desire.

He stressed: “Politicians talk about democracy, which is constitutional. The problem is that we have made laws according to the dictates from outside.

“If we are prevented from legislating per the constitutional requirements and we surrender... it is our fault.

“We cannot put all the responsibility on others.  We have our own weaknesses and shortcomings. Today's politicians are weak.”

He recalled: “After July 25, 2018, all the political parties agreed on a plan of action. The decision to reject the then election was made and demand for a new election was raised.

At that time, he added ‘We should not have taken oath of a fake assembly but the PPP was in a hurry to form government in Sindh and the PML-N want to rule Punjab’.

He added:  “The PPP succeeded in forming the government in Sindh but the PML-N came with an empty hand.  So, we had to lead the opposition movement. We did 14 million marches in two years and made it to Islamabad.

“After my party endeavours bore fruit, the PDM alliance was formed and the responsibility of the presidency was also given to me.

“We were in favour of overthrowing the PTI government by the people’s power instead of the no-confidence motion.

“The PTI destroyed Pakistan's foreign relations and economy and it wanted to weaken national defence, so finally the institutions realized it.  We gathered everyone on one platform and thwarted all the conspiracies.

The JUI chief maintained: “Like other politicians, I was too contacted for the no-confidence motion but I refused,

“Had the JUI not backed them, it would have been accused of saving the PTI founder.

“We accepted the no-confidence motion to get rid of a fitna. When everyone was on one side, we were left alone  but we have never been the spoilers, “JUI chief

“Had JUI not shown support, Shehbaz Sharif would not have become the prime minister.

 “The annual GDP growth was on the decline in 2022, but no uprising occurred because we engaged all the stakeholders.”