PMLN, PPP leaders meet Fazl

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of different political parties met the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF) at his residence on Wednesday.

PMLN Senator Irfanul Haq Siddiqui, former federal minister Muhammad Ali Durrani and senior PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar met Maulana Fazlur Rehman amidst the rising political tension in the country. Maulana Asad Mahmood, JUIF spokesman Aslam Ghori and Salman Gilani were also present in the meeting with the PMLN leader. “Political situation in the country was discussed during the meeting,” a statement issued by the JUIF spokesman said.

The statement said that Muhammad Ali Durrani and Syed Naveed Qamar in their separate meetings congratulated Maulana Fazlur Rehman on his unopposed re-election as the party’s ameer and discussed the political situation with him. Other JUIF leaders Aslam Ghori and Mufti Abrar were also present.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui on Wednesday reiterated that the proposed constitutional amendment are not person-specific. “Any constitutional amendment has nothing to do with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa or Justice Mansoor Ali Shah,” said Siddiqui while speaking to media persons after meeting Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The government pushed the constitutional package amid speculation about a potential extension in the tenure of CJP Isa, who is set to retire this month, following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) request last month for the early issuance of a notification regarding the appointment of the next top judge. The PML-N, despite having the support of its allies such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and others, had postponed introducing the constitutional amendment in the parliament while claiming to have secured the “magic number” earlier.

However, deferment came after JUI-F refused to lend its support to the ruling coalition, short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.

Speaking on the said matter, Senator Siddiqui said that the issue surrounding the constitutional amendment will be clarified in the next two weeks.

The PML-N leader further said that the JUI-F chief backed the formation of constitutional court, however, he said Fazl did not want anything in the proposed judiciary centric constitutional package that is against the Constitution. “Things will improve in the next two weeks,” Siddiqui said, stressing that Fazl does not have reservations over the amendment and he only has reservations on a few minor matters which are being looked into by his team.

He said that the constitutional amendment will be passed if the ruling coalition secured two-thirds majority in parliament. “There is no pressure regarding the amendment as this is an 18-year-old agenda,” he added. Following the “non-political” meeting with Fazl, Senator Siddiqui admitted that the government cannot pass the constitutional amendment without the JUI-F chief’s approval. “We want Maulana Fazlur Rehman to support us and if he satisfies the PTI then we will have no objection,” said the senior PML-N leader.