AS JUI (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman met PML(N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National
Assembly Mian Shahbaz Sharif to garner support for his planned Azadi March with the latter announcing full participation in the rally to be held on October 31 in Islamabad, Prime Minister Imran Khan had a meeting with religious leaders in an apparent bid to counter efforts of JUI(F) to use religious card for the protest. Discounting the march, the Prime Minister claimed that he does not give a fig about it and would not allow use of students of seminaries for political objectives. He also tried to assuage apprehensions of Ulema about planned reforms in seminaries because of suspicions of religious circles about the real motives.
There is still confusion about the ultimate nature of the protest and the kind of support it would receive by other political parties despite announcements in this regard by PML(N), PPP and ANP. What Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday standing side by side the Maulana is a clear indication that PML(N) would not participate in the March itself but join JUI(F) in Islamabad where a grand rally would be organized to protest against the policies of the Government and demand its resignation. He asserted that a joint strategy would then be announced in Islamabad and Maulana Fazlur Rehman substantiated this line of action by saying, “When the entire nation enters Islamabad, we will proceed in complete consultation with all opposition parties. All future decisions will be made in joint consultation between the parties”. There is, therefore, possibility that the feared sit-in might not take place but it all depends on the response and strategy of the ruling party, which is also in a state of confusion. A Committee has been formed for contacting JUI(F) and persuading it to resolve the issues through negotiations but at the same time PTI leaders including Head of the Committee Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak are using offensive language against Maulana and other political personalities. They are, therefore, themselves pushing the entire opposition to the wall and raising the political temperature further high. Protest is right of every citizen and this right should be fully respected if the protest remains within the bounds of law. The Government has a daunting task ahead in different areas and it needs to adopt a serious attitude to deal with developments that could lead to political instability and uncertainty.
