KARACHI: On Thursday, the president of the alliance of the ruling parties, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and the head of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, requested a consensus decision from the allied parties regarding the country’s upcoming general elections. However, he supported the proposal of former president Asif Ali Zardari, who called for elections only after electoral reforms and changes to accountability laws.
After addressing a “Meet the Press” at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), the Maulana was confident while responding to a barrage of questions from journalists about the performance of the coalition government, which had “failed to bring any economic strategy” despite tall claims prior to the ouster of Imran Khan’s government, stating that “things would take time to settle down” and that it would be premature to “pass judgment on the new government.”
Using the term “personal views,” he also provided a rudimentary roadmap for future governance, proposing new terms of engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a cordial policy with the international community, and steps to restore the confidence of the developed world in Pakistan, which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had “ruined.”
Seeking allies’ vote on the upcoming general election
In response to a question about his opinion on the upcoming elections, he stated, “The first thing we should demand before determining its date is that the elections be held fairly and freely.” “That would be the decision of all parties, and every stakeholder’s timeline and schedule should be agreed upon. In contrast, I believe that elections should not be held until electoral reforms and accountability laws are in place. We are all aware that the NAB [National Accountability Bureau] has become an institution of vendetta over the past three years. Before the next election, the flaws that led to this mess must be addressed.
The previous day, former president Zardari had categorically ruled out the possibility of early elections, stating that the coalition government had decided to hold elections only after electoral reforms and amendments to election laws were completed. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had hinted at the possibility of holding general elections before November when the next army chief is scheduled to be appointed. However, the views of two key leaders of the ruling coalition diverged from this line of thinking. However, he had to retract his statements within hours of his BBC Urdu interview.
When the Maulana at the KPC was asked about the credibility of the ruling parties’ criticism of the PTI for “abusing the armed forces” when they were criticized for the same tone against “institutions” when they were in the opposition, he denied that his party or those in the PDM had constructed such a narrative, stating that only Imran Khan had violated all political and democratic norms.
In response to a question, he questioned, “When did any of us call the institutions Janwar?” “When we called our chief military commander Mir Jaffar a traitor? We did criticize the institutions for their role in politics, but we never made personal or institutional attacks. Imran Khan is the originator of this tradition of abuses and insults. “It’s one thing to criticize someone, but quite another to abuse them.”
