JUI-F to abstain from voting during PM, president elections

Announcing not to empower a new coalition led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) after the 2024 nationwide polls, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman insisted that his party would not be part of in forthcoming events of president, prime minister, and the National Assembly (NA) speaker elections.

The cleric, speaking to journalists in Islamabad on Thursday, said his politico-religious party would sit in the opposition and its lawmakers would abstain their votes during the upcoming electoral events in the assemblies concerned.

In response to a question regarding JUI-F’s strategy for a protest movement, he said: "Wait for it. We will represent the nation soon.".

“I haven’t met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz quaid Nawaz Sharif so far. A delegation arrived yesterday which comprises representatives of the PML-N, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).”

“We had a pleasant conservation as we were already very frank with them,” the senior politician answered another question regarding dialogues with major parties that formed a strong coalition to rule the country.

However, he clarified, again, that the JUI-F would not take part in any affair of such a parliament that was not controlled by true representatives of the nation. He added that his party don’t consider the current parliament a true representative of the nation after the February 8 nationwide polls.

The Fazl-led party had played a vital role in running a political movement against the former ruling party — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — and its supremo headed the multi-party alliance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for the successful ouster of the ex-premier Imran Khan in 2022 via parliamentary vote.

As the 2024 poll results drew criticism from different political parties, the politico-religious party also levelled rigging allegations.

The JUI-F, which won five National Assembly (NA), and 18 provincial assembly (PA) seats, collectively, in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), announced to stay away from being an ally of a new coalition led by the Nawaz-led party in the Centre and provinces but decided to play its parliamentary role as an opposition.