JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman lashes out at world powers for considering Pakistan 'a colony'

LARKANA: JUI-F chief and leader of the Opposition's coalition movement PDM, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on Thursday lashed out at world powers for considering Pakistan "a colony" and lambasted their "foreign agenda".

Addressing the Shaheed-e-Islam Conference here in Larkana, Fazlur Rehman criticised "foreign powers and their agenda", which, according to him, included winding up the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), angering China, and destroying its investment.

"We were not born to be slaves on this earth. We do not want to be ashamed of our future generations," the JUI-F leader said. "The world powers consider Pakistan as their colony and such a government is brought in to ensnare us in the clutches of international financial institutions."

He claimed that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and China were upset with Pakistan yet "there's talk of recognising Israel day and night".

"Someone should demand recognising Palestine as well," he stressed, adding that Pakistan's founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had said that the nation stood with the Palestinians.

"Even the 1940 [Lahore] Resolution mentions the Palestinians," he said.

Referring to the recently held Gilgit-Baltistan Election 2020, he said the government there was given to the PTI in a bid "to bury the Kashmir issue".

"For 72 years, we have been politicising the blood of Kashmiris," the cleric underscored.

Fazlur Rehman — who also heads the Opposition parties' Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — said the Constitution of Pakistan and the democracy were for the people and they should get their justified rights. "We cannot become a united nation unless we respect each other," he said.

"We are not the ones to be discouraged. We want to live in Pakistan according to the Constitution," he added.

The JUI-F chief underlined that all political parties were in agreement that the country's economy and agriculture have been destroyed. "Except for Pakistan, the entire Asia is developing. But the state trembles when the economy collapses," he added.

The incumbent government's "foreign policy has left us stranded", Fazl said.

Thanking the audience for participating in his 2019 Azadi March to Islamabad, he said it "is our duty to rebel against the incompetent leaders".

"We have stepped out for jihad [holy war] and we consider it the gunah-e-kabira [major sin] to retreat now," Fazlur Rehman said, adding that the government was arresting members of the Opposition-led PDM due to the upcoming Multan rally.