Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has declared that his group will not participate in any discussions with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to determine the election date.
Following an urgent party meeting, the announcement was made as negotiations between the government and opposition over the election date began in the Senate.
“We won’t participate in the negotiations, not even in the Senate. At a press conference on Thursday in Islamabad, Fazl said, “We stand by our position.
He emphasised that his party agrees that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should handle the situation and use its authority to determine the election’s date. Fazl also expressed his mistrust of engaging in dialogue with PTI, claiming that doing so will not produce a solution.
In addition, Fazl emphasised that PTI has not been acknowledged by the courts, and as a result, he does not think that engaging in negotiations with them is the proper course of action.
He asserted that the Supreme Court’s order to hold the elections on May 14 is invalid, and he advised them to make the necessary changes. He continued by saying that elections in Pakistan have always taken place on a single day.
The JUI-F leader added that the census results serve as the foundation for the constituencies, which need to be verified, and that the party that triumphs in Punjab will also take office at the federal level.
Fazl expressed concern about the accuracy of the census, advising the government that the digital method is incorrect and must be double-checked.
Fazl questioned the timing of the accountability procedure for former prime minister Imran Khan and declared that the party would soon launch a public campaign on the subject.
The Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan informed the Supreme Court that Chairman of the Senate Sadiq Sanjrani would form a committee made up of members from both sides of the aisle to develop a consensus to hold elections for the national and provincial assemblies on the same date as the case relating to the delay in the Punjab elections.
The three-judge panel advised the political parties to come to an agreement on a single election date in the interests of the country, the Constitution, and the welfare of the populace. The court feared that “things would stay the same” in that case.
The top court had requested last week that all political parties quickly agree on a date for holding concurrent general elections for the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies.
The court had stated that its directive regarding the Punjab Assembly elections on May 14 would take effect if it did not.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that elections were a matter that needed to be decided in parliament and that the ideal time to hold them was either in October or November while speaking to separate huddles of the parties in the ruling coalition, the PML-N parliamentary party, and the cabinet.
