![\"'India](\"https:\/\/c.ndtvimg.com\/2024-04\/ii0pbmo_maulana-fazlurrehman_625x300_30_April_24.jpg\"\/ "\\"'India")
<\/div>\nMaulana Fazlur Rehman was speaking in the National Assembly<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Islamabad: <\/b><\/p>\n
Pakistan’s leading right-wing Islamic leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday came out in support of his erstwhile rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, saying the opposition party has the right to hold rallies and even form a government.<\/p>\n
Rehman, the chief of his faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), made a blistering speech in the National Assembly, slamming the powerful establishment for allegedly rigging the political system.<\/p>\n
“It is the right of the PTI to hold a rally,” he said. “We also objected to the 2018 election and we object to this (February 8 polls) one too. If the 2018 poll was rigged, why is the current one not rigged?” he asked.<\/p>\n
PTI leader Asad Qaiser had demanded the party’s right to organise a rally. “The demand of Asad Qaiser is correct and it is the right of PTI to hold a rally,” Rehman said in his speech.<\/p>\n
Rehman urged the ruling coalition of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Peoples Party to allow the PTI to form the government if it enjoyed a majority in the parliament. \u00a0<\/p>\n
“Leave this power. Come and sit here [on the opposition benches], and if the PTI is indeed the larger group, then give them the government,” he said.<\/p>\n
The cleric then expressed his dismay over the role of the establishment and bureaucracy in election and running the country.<\/p>\n
“The establishment and bureaucracy had no role in achieving this country,” he said.<\/p>\n
He alleged that the elections held on Feb 8 were not fair but flawed.<\/p>\n
“What kind of election is this where the losers are not satisfied and the winners are upset?” he said.<\/p>\n
He drew parallels with neighbouring India. “Just compare India and ourselves… both countries got independence on the same day. But today they (India) are dreaming of becoming a superpower and we are begging to avoid bankruptcy,” he said.<\/p>\n
\nWhile India🇮🇳 is inching closer to become a Global Superpower, Pakistan🇵🇰 is begging before the world to save it from devastation.<\/p>\n
[Pakistan’s Parliament] pic.twitter.com\/i3ZNA3kQaN<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 kanishka Dadhich 🇮🇳 (@KanishkaDadhich) April 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He said that decisions are made by somebody else but politicians are blamed for the problems.<\/p>\n
Rehman also lamented the failure to implement recommendations from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), emphasising the importance of upholding Islamic principles.<\/p>\n
“We got the country in the name of Islam, but today we have become a secular state. Since 1973, not a single recommendation of the CII has been implemented. How can we be an Islamic country?” he said.<\/p>\n
The CCI is a constitutional body set up to help Islamize the laws.<\/p>\n
He also said that Pakistan was begging the International Monetary Fund to avoid bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
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