The Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has responded to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), claiming that it was not too late to contact the party for government formation, but rather that they took too long to recognize them for who they are.
“Ishaq Dar claims we took too long to approach them; however, we took too long to recognise them for who they are,” JUI-F leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said in a statement hours after his party’s Secretary-General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri met with the former finance minister on Monday.
According to sources, during PML-N leader Dar’s meeting with Haideri, the latter offered his former ally the opportunity to create a coalition government in Balochistan.
Dar, on the other hand, informed Haideri that the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will establish a coalition government in the province because a power-sharing deal between the two parties had already been reached at the Centre.
“The PML-N and the JUI-F can at the very least form a coalition government in Balochistan,” Haideri told sources.
However, Dar answered, “We wanted to go together, but Maulana, you are too late.”
The PML-N leader claimed he had attempted to contact the JUI-F but was unsuccessful. “Now we have struck an agreement with the PPP.”
In the statement, JUI-F’s Ahmed stated that his party had no plans to be a part of the Balochistan government and that he was “surprised” that Dar met with him despite the party’s refusal to be a part of any arrangement.
“The PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) still exists and has not been dissolved. “The JUI-F leadership was ignored in national and provincial decisions,” he said.
JUI-F Emir Fazl has refused to recognize the results of the February 8 elections, claiming that fraud and irregularities caused his party to lose in several constituencies.
In an unexpected move, Khan also met with arch-rival PTI leaders to discuss organizing combined rallies against alleged election cheating.
Furthermore, Fazl alleged that the no-confidence resolution against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was orchestrated and led by former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in March 2022 — with support from all parties, including PPP and PML-N.