Naming Faiz Hameed for orchestrating VONC a ‘slip of tongue’: Fazl

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday backtracked from his statement regarding ex-spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed’s involvement in bringing no-confidence vote (VONC) against former prime minister Imran Khan, dubbing it a ‘slip of tongue’, ARY News reported.

“I believe Gen [Qamar Javed] Bajwa and Lt Gen Faiz [Hameed] were responsible for rigging the 2018 general polls,” the JUI-F chief had said in an interview with a private TV channel.

A day earlier, Maulana Fazlur Rehman held former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, who was the then-Peshawar corps commander, responsible for the no-confidence vote against former prime minister Imran Khan and the PTI government.

Maulana Fazl was among top opposition leaders who spearheaded the efforts to oust the PTI founder under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Speaking to a private news channel, he clarified that he took Faiz Hameed’s name by “mistake”. However, he maintained Qamar Bajwa and Faiz were involved in rigging during the 2018 elections.

“This matter should be consigned to history instead of being discussed more,” he remarked.

When asked Qamar Bajwa had asked him to swear on his words, Fazlur Rehman replied these generals had also taken oath no to interfere in politics. “It is wrong to demand an oath on things that happened in front of us”, he added.

Talking about the elections and meeting with the PTI delegation, Fazl said that transparent elections did not take place anywhere including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. “Despite our differences, PTI delegation came and held a positive meeting. But we emphasised [with them] that rigging did take place in KP,” he added.

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In response to a question, Fazlur Rehman said he was ready to hold dialogue with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and PPP president Asif Ali Zardari. “Negotiations with PTI can end”, he said.

In April 2022, Pakistan saw for the first time in its history the ouster of a prime minister through a no-confidence vote. The efforts for the PTI founder’s removal were led by the then-opposition.

As many as 174 votes were cast in favor of a no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan. This was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a no-confidence motion against an elected prime minister succeeded.

Following the resignation of the NA speaker and deputy speaker, PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq as a panel of the chairman of the house began the proceedings on the matter.

The PTI had accused the country’s then-rulers of colluding with the US and hatching a regime change conspiracy to topple Imran’s government – a claim denied by the United States.