Ex-spymaster Faiz Hameed offered Senate chairmanship: Fazlur Rehman

• Gen Faiz asked him to bring change in system which he refused, says Fazl. 
• Following his refusal, JUI-F chief says opposition was divided in country.
• Maulana Fazl says he had refused to meet the former ISI chief. 

In a startling revelation, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday claimed that former director-general (DG) of the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant-General (retd) Faiz Hameed had offered him to become chairman of the Senate.

Fazl, who is also the president of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), made the revelation during an informal interaction with senior journalists in Peshawar.

The JUI-F leader said that the former spymaster had called him for a meeting but he refused. Later, he himself met him, Fazl said without giving details about the venue and date.

“I want to see you a member of the Senate and then chairman [of the upper house of parliament],” the PDM head said quoting the former top spy.

In return, the former ISI chief had asked him that he has to bring change in the system which he refused, Fazl claimed.

Following his refusal, the opposition was divided in the country, Fazl accused the establishment.

Responding to a question, the PDM chief said that all the political parties agreed that the 2018 elections were rigged, adding that the then-opposition should not have taken oath when they termed the assembly as “fake”.

The JUI-F was of the view that the opposition should have taken to the streets and forced the government to resign instead of joining the assemblies, he added.

To another query, the head of the ruling alliance said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had clarified that they would leave the government after the completion of their tenure in the next month.

“After completion of the government's tenure, we will have to go into the election. There are also difficulties in this regard,” said Fazl.

Speaking about the recent political meetings in the UAE, the JUI-F chief revealed that he was not taken into confidence on the Dubai huddles.

Last month, Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) top leaders, Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto called on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N)  supremo Nawaz Sharif and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz in Dubai to discuss "important" political matters.

The stalwarts of both the PML-N and the PPP had engaged in closed-door, off-camera sessions to discuss various options aimed at containing and managing public sentiments and ensuring the absence of any destabilising void that could potentially undermine civilian governance. 

The JUI-F chief also complained that he was not taken into confidence while taking such a “big step”.