Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan – former head of the JUI-F’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter – said the reports of internal differences in the party were correct, but expressed the hope that they would be able to resolve the matters through mutual consultations, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

Gul Naseeb, however, said JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, being a shrewd politician, would take timely actions to save the party from any difficult situation.

About Maulana Mohammad Khan Sherani’s assertion that Pakistan should recognise Israel, he described the statement as his personal opinion and said the JUI-F was standing by the Palestinians as per the party manifesto.

Earlier, Sherani – former chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology who previously served as MNA, senator and JUI-F Balochistan chief – had written a letter, accusing Fazl of turning the JUI-F into a family party.

“Maulana Fazlur Rehman himself is selected. How can he taunt and call Imran Khan and others selected?” he said and also rejected the PDM politics, terming it an unnatural alliance of the opposition parties. 

Later, Gul Naseeb and Maulana Shuja-ul-Mulk had come out openly to back the views of Sherani who, in fact, isn’t the first party leader to go after Fazl, as the saga had started with Hafiz Hussain Ahmed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYattGNATwE

Hafiz had not only criticised the policies of Fazl but also blasted PML-n supremo Nawaz Sharif for his anti-establishment stance.

Also on Thursday, 24NewsHD reported that the government had devised a strategy to tackle the rival religio-political parties, which, sources said, was obviously focused on the JUI-F, as Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri and Tahir Ashrafi had been assigned with the task of contacting the religious circles.

The sources say Qadri – federal minister for religious affairs – will reach out to the custodians of different shrines and other leaders of the same school of thought.

Similarly, Ashrafi, who is a special representative to the prime minister on religious harmony, will contact madrasas as well as other religious scholars and leaders for the same purpose backing the government.

In this connection, the sources say discussions with other religious circles and parties is aimed at weakening the JUI-F’s position when it comes to the ongoing PDM movement.

On the other hand, the JUI-F leadership also is holding a meeting in Islamabad on Thursday for discussing the PDM-related affairs and the “media trial” of Fazl, who is also the opposition alliance’s president, as he hasn’t so far received the questionnaire issued by the NAB despite being shared with and spread through TV channels and newspapers.

The central executive committee, provincial party heads and others leaders are among those attending the JUI-F meeting to be chaired by Fazl. They will deliberate upon the PDM’s performance so far, current political scenario and future course of action.

Also, the party will formulate a strategy to counter the media trial faced by Fazl given the fact that the NAB questionnaire has not be sent to him but being used on TV screen and in newspapers which the party believes is nothing but character assassination.