ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has jumped in personally to calm down the clerics before they explode into streets as he takes the threat from the religious parties seriously, The Nation learnt.
The brewing anti-government storm is spearheaded by key ally Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal) and has attracted all the prominent religious parties.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman is furious over the execution of former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri and the introduction of women protection law in Punjab – which he believes is against Islam.The JUI-F leader has threatened to topple the government if it continues to make laws against Islam to please the West.
The cleric said Pakistan was formed in the name of Islam and the religious parties will not allow the government to make it a secular state.
“We are not in a position to form the government but we can definitely topple it.It will be better for the government to be sensible,” he said.
The previous day, he had the support of several religious parties who condemned Qadri’s execution and enforcement of women protection law in Punjab.
The JUI-F chief announced all religious parties will meet at the Jamaat-e-Islami head office in Mansoora, Lahore, on March 15, to finalise strategy against the controversial law.
The right-wing parties feared the government was planning to weaken the blasphemy laws under pressure from the western countries which the people of Pakistan would not allow.
The religious parties have also demanded of Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah to review the controversial legislation at once or face massive protests.
A close aide of Prime Minister Sharif told The Nation, the premier was not taking the threat from the religious parties lightly and had started to contact the top clerics personally to defuse the situation.
Sharif, he said, feared any protest movement could emerge as a new challenge for the government.“He feels other parties could join such a campaign to destabilise the government,” added the source.
The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf has been after the government for a while and aspires for early polls.Its marathon sit-in in front of the parliament in the past failed to dislodge the government despite exerting a lot of pressure.
A protest movement by the religious parties could encourage the PTI to join the bandwagon and push the government to limits.
The close aide of the premier said Sharif did not want to wait for such a situation.“The PM is in contact with the top religious leaders and might be ready to accept some of their demands to placate them,” he added.
Another senior official said the PM was in contact with religious parties leaders to stop them from launching any protest campaign.
“The aim is to make the March 15 meeting as cool as possible.There should not be a big announcement after the Mansoora meeting,” he remarked.
The PML-N has a comfortable majority in the National Assembly with 187 members.The Pakistan People’s Party has 46 lawmakers followed by the PTI, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the JUI-F with 34, 23, and 13 members respectively.The Jamaat-e-Islami has four legislators.
The JUI-F can bank on the JI and other religious groups and the PTI can possibly join their protest movement.
Senior JUI-F leader Senator Hafiz Hamdullah said the government was succumbing to the western pressure to enforce un-Islamic laws.
“Our party is committed to the Islamic image of the country and will not allow anyone to tarnish our ideology,” he said.
Senator Hamdullah said the women protection law in Punjab was against the teachings of Islam.“The government either has to accept it is violating the constitution or withdraw such un-Islamic laws,” he asserted.
The JUI-F leader said his party, together with the other religious parties, will force the government to undo the un-Islamic law.“We will consider other options in they do not pay heed to our demands,” he added.
PTI sources said Imran Khan wanted to see how far the clerics could go against the government before sharing the stage with them.“We do not have too good ties with the JUI-F but for the larger national interest, we could get together on a one-point agenda,” hinted a senior PTI leader.
http://nation.com.pk/national/07-Mar-2016/sharif-keen-to-placate-clerics
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