Rigid stance

Speaking at a press conference after JUI (F) district executive council meeting at DI Khan on Sunday, Maulana Fazlu Rehman described the popularly elected PTI led government illegitimate and liable to be sent home. He alleged that establishment is responsible for bringing this government to power but in the same breath he said that JUI (F) does not want confrontation with any state institution. He reiterated that his party decision about the million marches towards Islamabad is irreversible and vowed that neither a deal shall be made with the present government nor any space will be given to it.

 It was Maulana Fazlu Rehman alone, who took the stance that the polls were rigged when the results of 2018 election were out. Other opposition parties including PML-N and PPP had accepted the verdict of the people which gave overwhelming mandate to ruling PTI. However, when the wheel of across-the-board accountability started running other opposition parties hinted at giving support to JUI (F) agitation politics. PPP Chairman Bilwal Bhutto Zardari hosted Iftar Dinner for the leaders of opposition parties and authorized MaulanaFazluRehman to call all Parties Conference to agree upon a protest plan outside parliament. Still conflicting signals are emanating from PML-N as to whether its President Shabaz Sharif is supportive of JUI (F) leadership inflexible stance or not. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has assured JUI (F) central Amir about his party active support in million marches towards Islamabad. It is indicative of observing double standards by PML-N leadership.

Rule of law, transparency and accountability are the basic fundamentals of true democracy and there can be no different sets of laws for the investigation and trial of the citizens of the country. Rule of law is equally applicable to common man and political elite. But on the contrary in Pakistan the opposition political parties are opposing, by and large, the across-the-board accountability process, bringing to justice the elite class by observing the rule law of law and ensuring transparency in the system of governance. It was the US that moved a resolution in the Paris meeting of FATF early last year seeking black-listing Pakistan for its weak anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regime. A short leash of three months was given to the previous PML-N government to make strong the anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing regimes before formally putting Pakistan on the black list in June last year. Instead of putting their house in order former Interior Minister Ahsan termed it a conspiracy to destroy the so called fast growing economy of Pakistan, whereas his party government actually put the economy on fast downturn.

It is not only a misnomer but a matter of grave concern that because of the alleged involvement of ruling political elite, business tycoons and top bureaucrats the sole superpower of world, the United States has extended the scope of FATF scrutiny to the entire economy of Pakistan, including both formal and informal sectors. In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly 74th session, Prime Minister Imran Khan unmasked Indian design to push Pakistan from FATF grey list to black list.

In their protest rallies the JUI (F) and other political parties will try to capitalize on the issues pertaining to high price spiral, mass unemployment, worsening business environment and law and order situation. These issues are agitating the minds of the people. Hence, it is time that government focuses its maximum attention on these issues.

The post Rigid stance appeared first on The Frontier Post.

from The Frontier Post https://ift.tt/2oQrUET