Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has vowed that his party will boycott the election for the National Assembly speaker, deputy speaker, and prime minister.
Speaking to the media following the Lower House session to give oaths to newly elected members, the Maulana made it clear that the JUI-F would not participate in this parliament or sit on the opposition benches.
When asked how it felt to return to the assembly, the JUI-F chief responded that it was not an assembly but something else. To another query about whether his party will stage a protest or a freedom march in response to the recent elections, he advised to “wait and see.”
When a journalist asked Fazl if he thought the new assembly will complete its five-year mandate, he responded it did not appear so. “We will not be part of the election of speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly and prime minister,” he went on to say.
He went on to say that they saw this parliament as more of a “representative of the establishment” than of the people.
The county’s 16th National Assembly was recently sworn in, with Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administering the oath to newly elected members of the House during its maiden session, despite loud objections from the opposition benches.
