ISLAMABAD: At the six-party opposition alliance’s maiden demonstration in Pishin town, Balochistan, against the ruling parties, curses were hurled against the latter’s chairman, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, prompting tensions between the PTI and JUI-F on Saturday over the purported “theft of mandate.”
It was at the same moment that the opposition parties began their protests against the government that the PTI and JUI-F began to fall out.
In addition to accusing the PTI of applying unfair standards, the JUI-F issued a warning, stating that if the major goal of its politics was to disparage prominent figures, it would not be able to even stay in the opposition.
After the rally, the JUI-F branded the PTI as having revealed its true colors at the Pishin meeting, denouncing the sloganeering directed at its party chairman and labeling the event as a “failed” one.
The party’s spokesperson, Aslam Ghauri, issued a statement saying, “Slogans against JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman during the rally of the opposition parties in Pishin are condemnable.”
For a very long period, the PTI and JUI-F have been at odds with one another.
Imran Khan, the founding chairman of the PTI, and other party officials referred to JUI-F chief Fazl as “diesel” at rallies and in interviews with the media. This was in reference to an allegation that Fazl had benefited monetarily from fuel permits obtained during the PPP government in the 1990s.
When the two fierce political enemies eventually came together to talk about the state of the nation and start a dialogue with other political groups in October of last year, there was a noticeable warming in their ties.
Following Imran’s approval for the move, the two parties established formal communication for the first time.
When PTI leaders paid a visit to the home of the JUI-F president, it was viewed as a significant political u-turn intended to ease tensions between the two groups.
After the meeting, Asad Qaiser, Ali Muhammad Khan, and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, among other PTI leaders, even said prayers in support of Fazl, taking into consideration the party’s and its leadership’s feelings for him.
Both sides met multiple times before and after the elections, growing closer to one another and considering launching a coordinated campaign against the government over what they perceived as “massive rigging” of the general elections.
But on Saturday, the JUI-F demanded that the party take control of its leaders and accused Sher Afzal Marwat, the head of the PTI, of disrespecting the Maulana.
As negotiations with the JUI-F were still ongoing, Marwat was observed urging demonstrators not to chant the word “diesel” throughout the demonstration.
The PTI was accused of applying double standards by the JUI-F spokesperson, but she also added that the opposition parties’ first rally exposed the PTI’s “hypocrisy.”
Ghauri said in the statement, “The opposition has to put a leash on the likes of Sher Afzal Marwat,” reminding Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of the recently formed opposition alliance, that he had pledged that no one would be mistreated at the public demonstrations.
Ghauri went on, “It appears that the PTI’s politics are limited to disparaging political leaders with individuals like Sher Afzal.”
“Sher Afzal and other individuals are putting the final nail in the PTI’s coffin.”
He continued by saying that the people and media were most likely drawing attention to the “failed rally” because of the chants being chanted.
Ghauri cautioned that the PTI’s leaders would not even be allowed to stay in the opposition if they did not control their mouths, recalling how the JUI-F had been instrumental in the PTI’s fall from grace in April 2022.
