JUI-F's Haideri says did not accept 2018 elections since day one

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F General Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said Friday his party did not accept the 2018 general elections since day one.

"We do not accept the government that was set up consequent to the 2018 elections," Haideri, the Senate's former deputy chair, added. "The summary of our struggle is that the current government gets dismissed."

The JUI-F leader referred to the PTI's sit-in six years ago — the 2014 Azadi March — in his criticism, noting that Prime Minister "Imran Khan, too, initiated a campaign during [former premier] Nawaz Sharif's tenure".

Read more: PM Imran says Fazl should be tried for high treason

He stressed that his party's struggle was peaceful and that not a single road was blocked during the 2019 Azadi March, led by JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman. "Imran Khan burnt electricity bills and took part in civil disobedience," Haideri said.

Ask Maulana

"Our struggle still continues and our demand is for Imran Khan to resign. 16 months have passed but this government has not done anything," he said.

The JUI-F leader, speaking about how the 2019 Azadi March deflated before concluding, said: "I don't know who gave Maulana [Fazlur Rehman] assurances. Ask him.

What did the Maulana achieve?

"There were talks with a team representing the government and then later with the Chaudhry brothers. However, our demand in these talks, too, was the same: that Imran Khan should resign," he mentioned.

'Vain'

With regard to whether the JUI-F chief made a similar demand publicly, he said: "I didn't hear Maulana saying anything like this."

On the incumbent science and technology minister, he asked: "Which of Fawad Chaudhry's statements should we trust? He fits in every boot.

"His statements are vain," he added.

'Pandora's box'

Reacting to PM Imran's statement earlier in the day about how Fazl should be tried for high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution — over recent remarks made by the latter that suggested he had conspired to topple the government — Haideri said it was "most shameful".

Is the PTI government going through 'aftershocks' of the Azadi March?

"Imran Khan can engage in a power struggle and arrest Maulana Fazlur Rehman. If it really is categorised as treason, it would open a Pandora's box," he said.

"Not only is Imran Khan incapable and unqualified, he doesn't even fulfil Article 6 of the Constitution."