report in The Nation, Oct 30, 2020
Multan – President of PDM and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman here on Thursday asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to declare the 2018 elections null and void and hold fresh polls in the country instead.
“Neither will we hold talks nor are in favour of any dialogue. Our only demand is fresh polls in the country,” he said while addressing a news conference at Jamia Qasimul Uloom. He added that the opposition would continue to hold public gatherings despite blasts. He said that it was government’s responsibility to give security to the opposition. “If they fail, we’ll make our own security arrangements,” he declared.
The JUI chief said that media and politicians were being stifled which was a sign of dictatorship. He was of the view that there was no government in the country and the current regime was standing on crutches. Fazl claimed that the Multan public gathering to be held on November 30 would break all previous records in terms of attendance. He said that all political parties were in contact with the PDM.
“Masses have expressed sheer disappointment over the poor performance of the government during our public meetings,” he claimed. He accused the government of making attempts to divide the opposition.
“The arrest of Captain (r) Safdar in Karachi was part of these efforts.
But these attempts have failed as the PPP and PML (N) have demonstrated unprecedented political wisdom. Instead the perpetrators have faced a severe backlash from Sindh police,” he added. He said that the silence of Government on Kashmir issue was very dangerous. “We’ll have to review our principled stand on Gilgit Baltistan too,” he added.
He opined that it was Imran Khan’s plan to divide Kashmir into three parts.
He said that the new legislation by the government to give immunity to the CPEC Authority Chairman from NAB would officially pave way for corruption. He said that the government had broken China’s trust in CPEC.
He was of the opinion that he did not want poor relations with the USA but the relations should be based on equality. He noted that the USA never changed its policies despite changes in the governments, adding that we should not form policies under US pressure too.
Answering a question, he said that the narrative of entire nation was quite clear that the establishment should stop interfering in the political issues. “What Imran Khan used to say about establishment’s interference in political affairs before coming into power? We also say the same thing. Out narrative is very clear that the establishment must cease its interference in political affairs,” he added. He said that the security institutions were highly respectable and inevitable for the nation but the establishment should work within their constitutional domain. …..
He regretted that no reaction was given at state level on the martyrdom of children in Peshawar seminary. “Both the APC and Madrassa tragedies are the same but the response of the state is different. Why?” he posed a question. https://nation.com.pk/30-Oct-2020/fazl-asks-ecp-to-hold-fresh-elections
