Fazl says no to electoral reforms, amendments to NAB laws

JUI (F) Chief and PDM convenor Maulana Fazlur Rehman has rejected the government proposed electoral reforms and amendments to the NAB laws, demanding the complete abolition of the anti-graft body saying it was created by a dictator to oppress the political opponents.

Talking to the 24NewsHD TV channel in Dera Ismail Khan on Tuesday, the Maulana lamented that the government which was the product of rigging could not be expected to bring about electoral reforms or conduct fair elections.

He was of the view that the opposition parties should sit together and decide about the rules regarding the electoral reforms. The opposition should give proposals regarding the implementation of these rules, he added.

The Maulana said that the most important thing even before going to the assembly about electoral reforms was that the Army should be completely taken out from the electoral process.

“If the establishment is detached from the electoral process, then fair elections can be guaranteed,” he opined.

Maulana Fazl said people cast their votes to another person but when the counting was done, these votes were counted in favour of some other candidate. He joked that this saying had become famous nowadays: “Election is not about casting ballots, rather it’s about counting the ballots,”.

He said that the way the elections were held in Azad Kashmir/Gilgit-Baltistan, it could sow the seeds of Kashmir Debacle like the Dhaka Debacle.

He flayed Prime Minister Imran Khan statement regarding Kashmir referendum terming it against the traditional stance of Pakistan. He wondered if Imran did have this mandate to say something against our stated position on Kashmir.

Replying to a question, the Maulana said there was no question of reforms in the NAB laws. “It should be abolished altogether as NAB was created by a dictator who used it against politicians,” the Maulana concluded.

Reporter: Sajid Baloch