Attempts for technical knockout: Move intended to dent Fazl’s high-profile political role

ISLAMABAD: Four former veteran leaders of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who have recently been expelled from the party, are attempting to knock out party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on technical grounds in a bid to overwhelm him and snatch political power from his tight control.

But even if such an effort meets with success, will it have an impact on the stature and standing of Fazlur Rehman within his party, in the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) or on the overall political horizon? Will the moves by the dissenters affect his hold on the JUI-F?

If the past is any guide, the answer to these questions would be in the negative. During General Ziaul Haq’s martial law, the late Maulana Samiul Haq had broken away from the JUI and founded his own faction. However, Fazlur Rehman had maintained his status as the undisputed chief of the party and Samiul Haq’s group was never able to show any worthwhile electoral performance.

The group of four ousted leaders -- Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, Maulana Gul Naseeb and Maulana Shujaul Mulk -- is considering sending a notice to Fazlur Rehman to change the name of the party while registering it with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). It wants to use the shoulders of the ECP to snatch away the JUI from Fazlur Rehman.

The leaders say that in 2008 and 2013, the JUI Pakistan (JUIP) was registered with the addition of Fazlur Rehman’s name. The ECP did all this on someone’s desire. It did not show any regard to the party’s constitution as it did not notice the party’s actual name. Every time the ECP committed violations as the party kept changing its name, they claim. The group is of the opinion that in 2013 their colleague Dr Abdul Aziz told the JUI chief that it has been heard that the word ‘Pakistan’ has been erased from the JUIP and Fazlur Rehman’s name added. This implied that it is just one group within the party. But Fazlur Rehman announced in the general council that there is no group and there is only one party by the name of JUIP. In 2002, the JUIP was registered while in 2008 and 2013 it was registered as JUI-F and thus the word Pakistan was removed.

“We are members of the JUIP and not of the Fazlur Rehman group. Under which constitution was the party’s name changed? A two-thirds majority is required in the general council to bring any such alteration. It was necessary for Fazlur Rehman to go to the general council for the purpose,” one dissenting leader said.

Before his expulsion, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed was constantly attacking Fazlur Rehman during his TV appearances and questioning the JUI-F chief’s strong alignment with the PML-N. He was also strongly criticizing Nawaz Sharif. More recently, Maulana Sherani spoke against the party chief in the same vein. He was followed by Gul Naseeb and Shujaul Mulk. It seemed as if the moves were orchestrated to cut Fazlur Rehman down to size within the party and the PDM.

In response, the JUI-F, seemingly at Fazlur Rehman’s behest, reacted in a very decisive manner and ousted the four leaders last month. Since then, the angry group is busy in challenging the JUI-F chief. The JUI-F, meanwhile, has stopped responding to the harangues on the ground that the rebels do not pose any meaningful threat to its public support and its worth within the PDM.

The present revolt emerged at a time when the PDM under Fazlur Rehman’s tutelage was engaged in the anti-government campaign in which the JUI-F chief has a principal role due to his formidable street power. The tirades from the sidelines of the group have so far not affected his importance in the PDM.

A usual rule of thumb is that any opposition politician who attracts the maximum denunciation from ministers is usually considered a political threat to the government. The constant government demonising of Fazlur Rehman – along with Pakistan Muslim League-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz --should be seen in this perspective.

The government has consistently used the statements of the rebels against Fazlur Rehman to argue that he has been isolated within his own party, which they claim is in a disarray. What was music to the ears of the ministers was Maulana Sherani’s outburst against Nawaz Sharif. “The former prime minister went abroad by faking his medical reports, thus deceiving the establishment. He would have been in jail even today if there had been no Azadi March by the JUI in 2019.”