Empower politicians, not use force, to address security issues: Maulana Fazl

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam—Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that instead of placing the responsibility of terrorism in Pakistan on Afghanistan, we should look at our own actions as we (our forces) are sitting on the borders and not Afghanistan’s.

Speaking in the National Assembly, he said that if this House will not consider the attacks on our armed forces and the attacks on the institutions, who else will?

“We are not taking the situation seriously, the situation has become fluid on both sides. One side has gone to the extent of talking about secession and the other side is dealing with them through the force to go to the extreme to protect the state. Such statements make the situation more perilous. This action taken to extremes by both sides becomes a question mark on the security of Pakistan.:

Fazlur Rehman said that all these issues can be corrected by political people, but today the importance of political people is being reduced, the experienced political leadership is being sidelined and replaced with new youth leadership who are inexperienced and emotional which make things more complicated.

The JUI chief said that matters should be handed over to the politicians by empowering them. It can be a wish to contain everything and to become Faisalabad’s clocktower and Amrat Dhara (cure-all) yourself for all matters. But this can never be a solution to the problem. “Does the government have the power to make a decision and take the opposition into confidence?” he asked urging the parliament to take some steps in this regard.

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He said that it is not a secret that Pakistan has become a battleground of proxy war, America, China, CPEC, Gwadar etc, all these issues are interconnected. One side wants to invest, but obstacles are being erected to scrupper mega Expressing his concern, he said that the situation in Balochistan has gone to such an extent that in some areas, the national anthem of Pakistan cannot be read and the flag cannot be hoisted.

“We are in the opposition, but if the country needs us, we are present to offer our services. It is the greatest stupidity to consider parliament, political parties and leaders as unnecessary for the country.”

Fazlur Rehman said that robbers and dacoits rule the roost in Sindh, the writ of the state is being challenged in Balochistan. The parliament should be asked to go ahead and talk to the people in Balochistan and for peace in KP. The situation can be corrected by talking to the people there. But the situation is getting worse owing to the current strategy.

He said that when the state fails, we step in to manage the situation. I personally went to Afghanistan, held discussions with various departments, and returned successfully, briefing the government and the foreign ministry, who were satisfied with the outcomes. Yet, whenever an attack occurs, the immediate reaction is to blame Afghanistan. But are the Afghan people truly at fault? If a few individuals manage to cross one or two checkpoints from Afghanistan and enter our territory, while there are 250 checkpoints between Quetta and Bisham, is it really Afghanistan’s responsibility to stop them? Our army is stationed at the borders, not theirs. We need to examine our own responsibilities instead of placing the blame elsewhere.

He said that the missing persons case is a serious issue. It is the responsibility of the government to inform the families where their loved ones are, whether they are alive or dead, in jail or have fled somewhere, they should know where their sons area.