JUI-F wins PML-N support for Islamabad lockdown – Pakistan

LAHORE: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Muslim League of Pakistan-Nawaz decided on Sunday to jointly organize "Azadi March" in October to besiege Islamabad and expel the government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, but a decision on the final date of the march would be taken later.

The head of JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, along with his delegation, called the president of PML-N, Shahbaz Sharif, to his residence in Model Town to convince him that his party should join the JUI-F to overthrow the government .

Maulana had previously warned Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign until August 31 for "stealing the mandate" in the 2018 general election, otherwise, the JUI-F would march to Islamabad.

After the refusal of the leadership of the Popular Party of Pakistan to participate in the closure of Islamabad, the JUI-F approached the PML-N seeking its support for the march. The Maulana also announced that it would gather a million people in Islamabad for which the support of PML-N would mean a lot.

Fazl and Shahbaz discuss the "Azadi march" against the government next month

Akram Durrani of JUI-F told the media after the marathon meeting that both JUI-F and PML-N would organize Azadi March and that his party would also approach other parties to invite them to join the government. He said the decision on a final date for the march would be taken at a meeting of the JUI-F committee on September 18, while his party representative would also attend the PML-Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting. N scheduled for the month of September. 30)

Durrani thanked the supreme leader of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, and President Shahbaz Sharif, as well as other party leaders, for lending their support to the planned anti-government march.

Speaking on the occasion, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the PTI government had become a threat to the country's sovereignty. He said that JUI-F and PML-N had a complete understanding of the issue and decided to launch the campaign against the government.

He announced that important decisions would be taken at the PML-N CEC meeting on September 30.

Mr. Iqbal demanded that the PTI government resign because "he could not comply and instead ruined the country." He said that Pakistan had fallen on economic fronts and that unemployment was rampantly rising in the country. "Prime Minister Imran Khan should also decide to leave politics as his" political cousin, "Awami Tehreek's head of Pakistan Awami Tehreek, Tahirul Qadri," added Mr. Iqbal.

Previously, PML-N's main leader, Ayaz Sadiq, had told the media that he was in favor of Islamabad's sitting, but that the plan would be discussed within the party and with the supreme of the jailed party. "I never thought that the PTI government would ruin the country in such a short time," he added.

Answering a question about plans to overthrow the government amid the tense situation in Kashmir, Sadiq said that governments could change even during wars.

Posted on Dawn, September 16, 2019