'JUI-F disagrees with PTI's civil disobedience movement'

• Civil disobedience to harm PTI itself the most: JUI-F leader.
• PTI threatens civil disobedience sans fruitful government talks.
• Yousafzai assures continued protests alongside negotiations.
  

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) top leader Hafiz Hamdullah has categorically said that his party does not support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) proposed civil disobedience movement.

Speaking on Geo News' programme "Capital Talk", he clarified that no decision has been made to join hands with PTI in any joint campaign.

Hamdullah remarked that if PTI approaches JUI-F for a joint movement, the matter will be considered, but politics leaves room for no absolute certainties.

Criticising PTI's strategy, Hamdullah warned that the civil disobedience movement would harm PTI itself the most. His comments come in response to PTI leader Asad Qaiser’s claims about ongoing communication with Maulana Fazlur Rehman for a unified anti-government campaign.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai has threatened to declare a civil disobedience movement from December 14 if the government does not engage in serious negotiations.

Qaiser, in conversation with the media in Peshawar on Tuesday, had said: "We are in contact with [JUI-F Emir] Maulana Fazlur Rehman. We want to launch a joint movement against the government."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lambasted the PTI for threatening the government to launch civil disobedience, terming the move an "enmity with Pakistan".

Addressing a cabinet meeting, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over the rise in remittances and said the development occurred despite the call for civil disobedience from a particular political party, adding that it reflects the trust of overseas Pakistanis in the government.

He also emphasised the need for political stability for economic development, saying that directions have been given to ensure that those who recently attempted to attack Islamabad will not be spared.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, moreover, challenged the former ruling party to stand firm on its newly-announced civil disobedience movement after failed attempts to "attack" the capital.

"I challenge them [PTI] that their civil disobedience call will fail [...] no one will burn their utility bills," the PML-N leader said while speaking on the National Assembly floor.