Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), has said he rejected the government’s proposed constitutional amendments, criticising the draft for limiting fundamental rights and expanding the military’s role.
The JUI-F leader made the statement while speaking to the media in Multan on Friday, highlighting his concerns over draft received from the govt. Fazlur Rehman revealed that government’s proposal sought to establish a Federal Constitutional Court and had initially included provisions for extending judges’ tenure and increasing the number of judges. However, govt later withdrew these suggestions but retained the idea of creating the new court. “We told the government that this is merely a headline; show us the actual draft first, and then we will discuss,” he said. The JUI-F chief disclosed that the government was initially reluctant to share the draft with his party, even though a copy had been provided to the PPP. “Eventually, they gave us a copy, but I cannot say for sure whether both copies are identical. We do not know if there have been additions or subtractions in the new version,” he remarked.
