Pushing society into war not Shariat: Fazl

BANNU: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday said pushing the society into war is not Shariat as the Faizabad sit-in was a conspiracy hatched to trigger a war-like situation.
He said that the right over the natural resources could not be materialised despite amendment to the Constitution in this regard. Speaking at the Seerat-e-Mustafa Conference here, the Maulana said that parliament had passed a law giving the provinces' the right over the natural resources but it could not be implemented in letter and spirit. He said the tribal areas were rich in natural resources and the world was eyeing these resources.
The JUI-F chief maintained that the law in the settled areas did not apply to the tribal areas and the local tribes were the rightful owners of these resources. He alleged that slogan of tribal areas merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a trick to deprive the tribespeople of their resources. "The merger of tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not in the interest of tribespeople who would be deprived of their rights over the indigenous resources after the merger and non-locals would occupy their minerals and other resources," he elaborated.
The Maulana said the tribespeople were being hoodwinked into agreeing over the issue and misguided about the merger. "They are being misled by giving them false hopes about a better future for them and the coming generations in case of a merger. But we would not let anyone deprive the tribespeople of their rights," he added.
The JUI-F said they had no personal issue with anyone but would not allow anyone to promote the western way of life in the country in general and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular. He vowed to resist any move aimed at promoting the western culture in the country.
The Maulana said there was inequality in the relationship between Pakistan and the US, saying latter treated the former like a slave. He demanded a review of the relations with the US for striking a balance in it. "The countries we are economically dependent on want us to toe their line and act as their puppets. They want to weaken the Islamic values in the country and call the religious people extremists," he went on to say.
He said the JUI-F was not against friendship with any country but wanted the relations to be based on mutual respect. The Maulana said the JUI-F was committed to protecting the pro-Islam laws in the Constitution.