Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Wednesday said the so-called Azadi March of Jamait Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has become a ‘hostage march’ as its participants are being treated like hostages who have been left at the mercy of the freezing weather whereas the leaders are enjoying cosy bedrooms.
Talking to media persons here, she said Prime Minister Imran Khan has the feeling for the poor workers of the sit-in and he has issued directives to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take steps for the facilitation of the protesters, who are being used for personal political gains by the JUI-F leadership.
She said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed that the government has given the indication that it is ready to accept all their demands but the resignation of the prime minister, which is totally incorrect and misleading. She said not a single demand of the Rehbar Committee is worthy enough to give serious consideration as in every meeting they put forwards new demands completely unrelated to the demands of the previous meeting.
She said there is need to rid the people of the federal capital of this situation through a way-out under the constitution and law of the land and the city cannot be made hostage to the whims of a single person. She also condemned the JUI-F chief for claiming that the sit-in was instrumental in foiling the government plan to hoist Israeli flag in Islamabad. She said this narrative of a religious scholar is highly provocative and is an effort to mislead the people of Pakistan. She said prime minister’s stance about Israel is very clear as he had openly stated that Israel had been illegally occupying Palestine land and until resolution of Palestine issue, peace in the region is not possible.
Dr Firdous said Fazl was part of the previous government when effort was made to make amendments in the blasphemy law. She said protest demonstrations were taken out by the masses but the JUI-F chief opted to remain silent due to political considerations. He neither condemned the effort to change the blasphemy law nor held a sit-in or parted ways with the then ruling party, she recalled.
Criticizing the statement of Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, she said he even does not know that for the constitution of a medical board, the accused has to file an application in NAB court. She said the government has nothing to do with the issue.
She said it is heartening to note that now opposition party leaders are also talking about equal implementation of law on all the citizens, which was a slogan of Imran Khan. She said the opposition in Sindh has been pushed to the wall and that there is a dire need for equal implementation of law. She said stories of corruption and bad governance in Sindh are rampant and Bilawal should divert his attention towards resolution of the problems of the masses.
Commenting on former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s shifting home from the hospital, she said it is strange that a seriously ill person has been shifted to his home for better medical treatment instead of a state-of-the-art hospital. She said Maryam Nawaz was given relief to pay attention to her ailing father.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, Dr Firdous said that the last night’s speech of the JUI-F chief is a manifestation of his frustration over the attitude of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party. She said it is a fact that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s historic speech in the United Nations has punctured the religious card of Fazl and demolished the objectives of the sit-in. She urged the Maulana that he should come out of the self-deception mode and stop teasing the masses as his conspiracy has failed. She also advised the JUI-F leader to not insult the genuine mandate of the people. She said Fazl is now himself politically isolated and his claim of Pakistan’s isolation is totally baseless.
