Fazlur Rehman said wasn’t invited to multi-party meeting at Shujaat’s place

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday asserted that he wasn’t invited to the multi-party meeting, held at PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain’s residence, where political parties pledged their support for a potential coalition government in the Centre, ARY News reported.

Speaking at ARY News’ programme ‘Khabbar’, the JUI-F chief ruled out notion of contacting any other political party and said his party has ‘strong reservations over the February 8 general elections’.

Dubbing the elections ‘a fraud’, Fazlur Rehman said that JUI-F’s MNAs-elect would tender resignation if party’s General Council advised them to do so. He alleged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is hostage and it cannot issue a result at its will.

“I am not a politician like [Asif] Zardari and didn’t have financial resources like him,” he said, castigating a party, without naming it, for not supporting JUI-F. “Friendship asides, but we want this upcoming government to succumb,” he added.

He stressed that a government should be as per requirements of democracy, lamenting the move to bring “favourite candidates” by taking money. He also said that the international community is also not satisfied with this election.

However, Fazlur Rehman said, the Majlis-e-Shoora had decided to play its parliamentary role but would become a part of the assemblies with reservations. He questioned why elections are held if “favourite candidates” are already decided.

Responding to a question, he said they have invited Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to sit in opposition. “If PTI and JUI come together on one ideology then what’s the problem with that,” he responded to another question.

A day earlier, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman apprised PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif of party’s reservations over what he called ‘fraudulent’ elections, alleging that his party’s mandate was stolen.

The former prime minister visited Maulana Fazl’s residence after a multi-party meeting, which included all major political forces PPP, PML-N, MQM-P and IPP, held at PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat’s house in Islamabad.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari hinted at what he termed “another wide-ranging consensus” among Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PML-Q and MQM to form a PDM-like coalition government in the Centre.