PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday spoke to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and condemned the “government’s actions” against him.
The telephone conversation comes as tensions have remained high between the JUI-F chief and the PML-N-led federal government over the past month. On Sunday, Fazl’s party also held street protests in several cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against “propaganda” directed toward the party and its leadership.
According to a statement issued by PPP, Bilawal and Fazl exchanged views on the country’s political situation.
The Bhutto scion — whose PPP is an ally of the ruling coalition — “condemned the government’s actions and political vengeance” targeting the JUI-F.
“The government should tolerate the opposition’s criticism,” Bilawal was quoted as saying in the statement. He highlighted that the opposition had an “extremely important role in democracy and a parliamentary system”.
Speaking to Fazl, Bilawal said the “government should refrain from such actions that weaken democracy and the Parliament”.
The PPP chairman has recently been calling for political unity in the country, urging the prime minister to take measures to build trust with the government’s allies and the opposition.
“Via this reset, political parties will have to work together instead of fighting,” he said on Nov 10, days after he urged the federal government to engage all political and social stakeholders rather than “fighting everyone”, including Fazl.
The past month has witnessed exchanges of harsh remarks between Fazl and federal ministers, after the JUI-F chief accused the Centre of depriving the provinces of their rights.
These developments came after Fazl joined the opposition in criticising the Centre’s imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the PTI-ruled KP. He also accused the Centre of reneging on its commitments amid his efforts to mediate between the federal and KP governments.
On its part, the Centre has repeatedly cited the KP government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the counterterrorism fight for its decision, following which the PPP’s governor now heads the provincial administration.
On Oct 16, without naming anyone, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had claimed that a “head of a party” was “extremely upset over being denied a role in the new setup in KP and not getting the governorship”.
The next day, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry rebuked Fazl directly, who later clarified his criticism was aimed at policies, not state institutions.
The row played out in the Parliament as well, where Fazl questioned Asif’s absence and Naqvi’s presence at a meeting of the Makkah pact countries and Iran in Tehran.
In his response the next day, the interior minister explained his participation and went on to assail the JUI-F for “continuously crossing the line” and accused it of “extracting wealth from the state”.
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