CHIEF of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI) Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday ruled out any support for “minus one” formula and called for “minus all” while reiterating his demand for mid-term elections without any “interference from the institutions” and terming it the only democratic and possible solution to the crisis being faced by the country. Talking to reporters in Karachi on Thursday, he said the country was stuck in crises and challenges and fresh elections was the only answer.
Rumours about minus-one formula have been in circulation for quite some time and even the Prime Minister himself had referred to it during his lengthy speech in the National Assembly. However, with the passage of time these are dying down as the opposition too seems to be divided over the issue. Though Maulana Fazlur Rehman has called for fresh elections but it is encouraging that he has expressed his commitment to the Constitutional process saying that the Constitution provides solution to all crises. This augurs well for political culture of the country in the backdrop of the tendency to put undue pressure on the Government aimed at its destabilization. JUI(F) also adopted the same tactic by organizing a sit-in at the Federal Capital but appreciably it did not resort to violence as people witnessed during previous sit-ins by different political parties and pressure groups. It is constitutional right of the opposition to demand fresh elections but we believe the process of leg-pulling of the successive governments should come to an end and all those mandated to run affairs of the Federation or provinces should be allowed to do so with full peace of mind. Like previous governments, PTI too has an ambitious agenda but progress on its implementation is not satisfactory and, therefore, it needs time to translate its vision into reality, which should be given. There should be no hurry to grab power by destabilizing those who won confidence of the people through elections. It is also advisable for the Government to focus more on implementation of its manifesto than indulging in blame game and playing to the galleries.
