Islamabad
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said on Saturday that the federal government’s policy for the planned protest by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was clear. ‘Neither a deal will be made on accountability process nor the city [Islamabad] will be placed on lockdown,’ he stated in a tweet shared on his official twitter account.
‘There is no objection to the protest if it is carried out in compliance with the Supreme Court’s verdicts and the Law,’ he added. ‘The government will also hold talks with Maulana Fazlur Rehman […] we will not let the students of madrasahs to be used as fodder,’ he went on to state. According to the application, the JUI-F will be holding the ‘Azadi March on October 27, 2019, at D-Chowk, Islamabad, exercising its democratic and Constitutional right under Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution against the incumbent government’.
Last week, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had announced to begin the Azadi March on Oct 27 [now Oct 31] to oust the ‘incompetent’ government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, blaming him for the economic woes of the country. After the announcement, the government hinted at the use of force to scuttle the long march.—SABAH
