New govt would operate for a year at the most: Maulana Fazl

ISLAMABAD, April 18 (SABAH): Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that he plans on conveying to the new coalition setup his desire for “immediate” elections, just days after an alliance of then opposition parties ousted former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion and PML-N President Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the country’s new premier.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who had been at the forefront of the former joint opposition’s endeavours to end the Khan government, was addressing his party workers in Islamabad when he said that the new government would operate for a year at the most.

“In this new setup, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam has its own identity and we are telling them (coalition partners) that we still want elections immediately,” he added.

Referring to Imran Khan but not naming him, Maulana Fazl continued: “Even though he is gone and we sent him packing, it is still our responsibility to return to the people the amanat that we struggled for.”

Maulana Fazl suggested electoral reforms as a solution to any reservations that coalition partners in the new setup may have with regards to the electoral system and possibilities of rigging. He went on to say that “there is a limit to expediency. Continuing to stay in power unnecessarily would not be the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s stance”.

“And we stick to our stance,” he said, adding that the JUI-F would be engaging the new coalition setup on the subject.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman also said that we overthrew Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government so that the people of Pakistan could be given their mandate back. “Now it is our responsibility to give back the nation what we promised”, he added.