PML-Q no more ally of PTI: Fazlur Rehman

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman on Sunday rejected the impression that a deal had been reached between him and the government, saying the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) was no longer an ally of the government.

He was talking to Saleem Safi in Geo News programme 'Jirga' where he said the PML-Q wasn't an ally of the government anymore. "Pervaiz Elahi was convinced regarding our stance when he left after meeting me. No deal was reached between us and the government either through Elahi or someone else," he said.

Fazl said Elahi had spoken from his point of view when he said an understanding had been reached between the government and him. In response to a question, Fazl said JUI-F workers will not go home without the prime minister's resignation.

"Next year, Imran Khan will not be the prime minister," he claimed. "How that will happen, I can’t let you know. But we will not go home without his resignation." Fazl rejected the impression that the Azadi March dharnas had failed. He said the Plan B of the dharna was in place and that more pressure would be put on the government.

"We have moved from one dharna to several across the country," he said. He said Pervaiz Elahi wanted to create an impression that the opposition and the government were heading towards reconciliation.

“I strongly reject the claim of a deal or reconciliation with the government. We are wedded to our principled stance that Imran Khan must step down. We havedug our heels in and now there’s no going back on our word that the prime minister must go home,” he said.

Fazl said there might be only one U-turn in his life bringing them back to Islamabad. He claimed that the government had lost its grip over the PML-N and PPP. He said supremacy of the Constitution and free, fair and transparent election will be the collective victory of the opposition.

Answering a question, he said there were no big chinks or loopholes in the laws of the Election Commission of Pakistan and their reservations were only about the ‘outside interference’. Fazl said blocking roads and streets was no abnormal practice but a democratic and constitutional way to press the government for acceptance of demands. These ways, he said, were employed throughout the world.

“I know Imran Khan is not comfortable at his Banigala residence but confused, terrified and trembling. We share the nation’s agony but we will have to labour to get this huge load off their chest,” he said.

Meanwhile, Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Sunday said the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) was an ally of the government and will remain so in future as well. “No one can create a misunderstanding between the party and the government,” he said in a statement.

Pervaiz Elahi said whatever he said about the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was for Imran Khan's own good. The Punjab Assembly speaker said he had contacted the JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman to save the country from descending into political chaos.

Pervaiz Elahi said he had said a few days ago during an interview that Prime Minister Imran Khan should let Nawaz fly out of the country in view of his serious illness. He also credited Prime Minister Imran Khan and Interior Minister Ijaz Shah with maintaining law and order during the recent sit-ins in the country.