ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the Senate on Thursday that leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had urged the government to impose governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a claim that set off protests from JUI-F senators during a heated session.
“Barrister Ali Zafar sahib is sitting here. These are the same people who used to come to us before governor’s rule and say, ‘Impose governor’s rule and rid us of them’,” Naqvi said, addressing PTI senators, according to Geo News.
JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza protested against the remarks, and the chair repeatedly called for order and asked members to let the minister finish.
‘Not a defence agreement’
Naqvi was responding to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who mocked the government in the National Assembly on Wednesday over the meeting in Tehran between Iran and the Makkah Defence Alliance countries, asking why the interior minister was needed there while the defence minister sat in Islamabad.
“This was completely not a defence agreement,” Naqvi said, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had given him responsibilities linked to the regional crisis caused by the war. “I do not go out of enthusiasm,” he said.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly earlier on Thursday that no defence pact had been discussed in Tehran.
‘Islam for business’
Naqvi said he had once held Fazl in personal regard but accused JUI-F leaders of using religion for political and personal gain. “They have used Islam for politics, they have used Islam for business,” he said.
“For them, the state is a mother until the day they can squeeze the state,” he said, adding that when they were denied a share in government they “spit on the state”. He warned that a line had been crossed repeatedly. “If they do it, they will get an answer.”
Fazl told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the government had “misused the Constitution” to impose governor’s rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, and that the cabinet had overruled a deal he brokered to call off the PTI’s march on Islamabad.
