We are not against meaningful negotiations with Govt: Fazl

Maulana Fazlur Rehman called on Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi at their residence on Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman called on Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at their residence in Islamabad on Tuesday night, Dunya News reported.

According to sources, JUI-F’s anti-government Azadi March and sit-in in Islamabad and talks with government’s negotiation committee came under discussion during the meeting.

Talking to media after the meeting, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that we are not against meaningful negotiations with the government. He said that we shared our stance with Chaudhry Brothers during the meeting and also sought guidance from them.

Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that despite the deadlock, agreeing to continue the dialogue between Rahbar Committee and government negotiation team will find a way out of current political crisis.

Earlier, addressing the participants of Azadi March on 6th day, Fazlur Rehman said that the government’s recommendation to form a judicial commission to probe rigging in the July 2018 elections has been rejected. He said "We reject every proposal for the formation of a commission and maintain our demand for fresh elections. There can be no change in the matter."

He said the country would further move down if this government given more time. He said it should be clear that this rigged government is not acceptable to us and we are firmly stuck to our demand of re-elections in the country.

"Won t tolerate drama in the name of accountability in this country anymore," he said, lashing out at the government for its alleged witch hunting of political opponents.

Fazl lashed out at the government, blaming it for disturbing the friendly ties between Pakistan and China.

"We used to be proud of our friendship with China," he said. "We used to tell people that our friendship with China was higher than the Himalayas and sweeter than honey. Now, even China is not ready to invest in Pakistan due to our leaders follies," he added.

Fazl said that under the current economic conditions, factories were shutting down and production institutes were also being rendered useless. He said that people were losing their jobs.

"For the first time in our history, three budgets were presented in a single year," he said. "Even then this government couldn’t take advantage of the taxes."

Fazl said that Pakistan s ties with Afghanistan had hit a new low while Iran was giving more respect to India as compared to Pakistan.

"There are gold, silver and priceless minerals in the mountains of Balochistan," he said. "However, the people of Balochistan do not have control over their own resources."