PM Shehbaz 'woos' Fazl as PTI, JUI-F join hands in parliament

• Premier Shehbaz assures Fazl of addressing reservations.
• Govt "seeks JUI-F supremo's support to cope with challenges".
• President Zardari met Fazl to "discuss key legislation" last week.

After the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) joined hands with the major opposition party — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — on the parliamentary front, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held a meeting with the religio-political party's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman "to address his reservations".

In the meeting, PM Shehbaz assured Fazl that his reservations would be addressed, sources told Geo News.

The federal government has tried to engage Maulana Fazl after he expressed his reservations on multiple issues with the incumbent government being ruled by the coalition government led by the PML-N.

In the crucial meeting, the federal government sought the JUI-F chief's support and assistance to deal with the challenges facing the country, the sources added.

They added that the meeting was meant to appease Maulana Fazl who openly slammed the coalition government and levelled serious allegations of rigging in the February 8 nationwide polls.

Before the 2024 general elections, Fazl was one of the closest allies of the PML-N and the PPP who headed the multi-party opposition alliance — Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — who successfully ousted the former premier Imran Khan from office via a no-confidence motion in 2022.

Apparently pointing towards the JUI-F-PTI "cooperation agreement", the premier remarked that Fazl is a democratic politician and requested the latter to reject the "politics of the anarchist group", as per the insiders.

The incumbent government increased efforts to woo the former ally — JUI-F — through the recent meetings after the religio-political party reached a consensus on cooperation in the National Assembly and the Senate almost a week ago amid reports that the federal government was planning to table key legislation in parliament.

The ruling coalition leaders met Fazl after his latest meeting with the PTI delegation led by party's Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan.

Both the parties, who have traditionally been arch-rivals, had held multiple interactions since the February 8 polls owing to their mutual concerns regarding alleged election result manipulation and irregularities in the polls.

It was the second meeting by another top political figure of the coalition government following Fazl's engagement with President Asif Ali Zardari last week in which they discussed potential key legislation rumoured to be tabled in parliament.

Additionally, PM Shehbaz's administration is also busy holding deliberations with its allies these days amid speculations of tabling judiciary-centric legislation, including changes in the laws related to the top jurist's appointments based on the principle of seniority.

Earlier this week, the Imran Khan-founded party's chairman had alleged that the coalition government was “secretly working on legislation” instead of discussing legislative matters in parliamentary party meetings before convening parliament’s sessions.

Gohar had said that his party "would oppose any kind of extension" in the tenure of the judges. His statement pointed towards the rumoured legislation of the incumbent government to grant an extension to the top judge who is set to retire in October this year.

However, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar had told Geo News that the only criterion to be followed for the appointment of a new CJP is "seniority" and rejected the opposition’s allegations.

Advising against politicising the appointment of judges, the minister said that unnecessary debate should not be held on the matter.

Moreover, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar also rejected the reports stating that constitutional amendment cannot be introduced in the joint sitting.

Speaking to Geo News programme 'Naya Pakistan', Tarar categorically rejected the rumoured plans of the federal government to extend the chief justice's tenure.

Tarar, the ruling PML-N leader, said that a debate was held on the judges' extension a few months ago but it was not on the government's agenda right now.