PTI agrees to leave assemblies for snap elections, claims JUI-F chief

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed on Saturday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) "is ready to resign from the assemblies and dissolve the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) legislature" to mount pressure on the government to hold fresh polls.

The religio-political party constituted a committee headed by Kamran Murtaza whose members include Maulana Lutfur Rehman, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor, Aslam Ghauri and Maulana Amjad to hold talks with the Imran Khan-founded party.

The cleric, while talking to journalists in Islamabad today, said that the former ruling party assured him of stepping down from the assemblies and dissolving the KP Assembly.

"The JUI-F committee will finalise the future strategy after holding consultations with the PTI."

However, speaking to Geo News, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan rejected the JUI-F supremo’s claims that his party had agreed to resign from assemblies.

"We have neither held any consultations with Maulana Fazl regarding resignations or dissolution of the assemblies nor had any decision in this regard," the PTI chief added.

In today's interaction, Maulana Fazl also admitted that his party had difference of opinion with political parties and had "bitterness" with the PTI with relations being normalised.

The JUI-F supremo, who was one of the political rivals of the former ruling party, opposed the cases against incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and other politicians.

He also put forward a demand to hold parliamentary and local government (LG) elections together besides ending the concept of a caretaker set-up.

At the same time, the JUI-F chief also termed the mandate of the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province "fake".

The politico, who headed a multi-party opposition alliance — Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — which successfully ousted former prime minister Khan from power via no-confidence motion in 2022, claimed that his fight with the PTI founder was limited to the electoral arena.

He also slammed "powerless" ruling parties in the Centre — the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — and said that both the parties did not deserve to be in power.

After the 2024 nationwide polls, the religious party had developed differences with the PML-N and the PPP after they formed a coalition government as the former levelled serious allegations of election rigging, interference and manipulation of poll results and demanded fresh elections.

The PTI, which ruled the country from 2018 to 2022, had also formed a negotiation team comprising top party leaders including Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, Shibli Faraz, and others for holding talks with the Fazl-led party earlier this month, sources told Geo News.

Both parties had also held multiple meetings since the February 8 polls due to their mutual concerns over the alleged interference and manipulation during the general elections.

They also found a common ground in their opposition to the recently announced anti-terror drive titled "Operation Azm-e-Istekham" announced by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government.

"JUI-F desires peace and a stable economy in the country," said Fazl and announced forthcoming public events of his party in KP.

He announced that a kisan convention would be organised in Mardan district on August 10, a trader convention in Peshawar on August 11, and an aman (peace) jirga in Lakki Marwat on August 18.

He expressed his views that all politicians should be provoded level-playing field to continue political activities in the country. Fazl added that transparent election is only way to establish peace and stabilise the country's economy.