PTI's long march has failed: Maulana Fazlur Rehman

• "No one should be allowed to toy with Pakistan," Fazlur Rehman says.
• PDM chief asks govt to not spare Khan and his party.
• Fazlsays Khan "lost sympathy after drama."

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Sunday deemed the PTI's long march a "failure" and said that it cannot be revived now.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Fazl — who is also the chief of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — asked the coalition government to "not show any mercy to PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his party" following the turn of events in the wake of the assassination attack on Khan.

"I ask the government to be strict. No one should be allowed to toy with Pakistan. There will be no leniency with them now," the PDM chief said, adding that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah is ready to deal with PTI.

'Drama being staged'

Speaking about the assassination attempt on Khan, Fazl said: "A new drama was plotted. When the news first came, we were worried and expressed sympathy. But now we've realised that [Imran Khan] has left Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan behind in acting."

The JUI-F chief added that the PTI chairman has lost sympathy after the drama he staged. He questioned the number of bullets fired at Khan, those that hit him, and whether he was hit on both legs.

"Fragments of bullets were hit. Where did these fragments come from?" Fazl said while highlighting details of the attack as explained by PTI.

He added that there are fragments of a bomb, but not of bullets.

The JUI-F chief also spoke about Khan's reluctance to go to another hospital and emphasised that the former premier is lying all along.

"When hit by the bullet, he reaches Lahore in one day. Treatment for bone is being carried out at a cancer hospital. The man is constantly lying even today," he said adding that the nation is being put through anxiety and confusing everyone by using the incident.

PDM's head maintained that Punjab's government was responsible for the security of the long march in the province and insisted that Khan's lies should be investigated.

"Accusations are being hurled at important figures without evidence," Fazl said while criticising Khan and his party for blaming military officials for the attack.

'Fake cypher'

The JUI-F chief also commented about the cypher which, as alleged by Khan and his party members, was the reason behind his government's ouster in April.

"He waved the fake cypher after being ousted due to no confidence. A joint investigation team should be made to probe into how a fake letter was waved before the nation. A case should be filed for misrepresenting a state secret," Fazl mantained, adding that Khan wants an army chief of his choice.

On Arshad Sharif's 'threat letter'

Questioning the whereabouts of a "threat letter" issued to slain journalist Arshad Sharif, the PDM chief said: "In Arshad Sharif's case, it was established that he was sent abroad on the basis of a threat letter. Tell us where is it. There is one copy of the threat letter, which is with the [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] chief minister."

Fazl maintained that when a threat letter is issued, it reaches officials of all institutions so that they can follow the terrorists. He added that no one has the letter's copy.

He demanded that if an investigation commission is formed to probe Sharif's killing, then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's chief executive and provincial ministers should also be investigated.

"If an investigation is done, you will be trapped, just like you're trapped in a closed alley now. There is no way for you to get out," the PDM chief said, claiming that "Khan is lying to keep himself alive."

The JUI-F chief also condemned the alleged obscene videos of PTI Senator Azam Khan Swati, which have been termed fake by the FIA.

"I don't want to comment more on this," PDM's head said, adding that he isn't comfortable speaking about it.