Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were once close partners, but on Wednesday they found themselves entangled in a nasty conflict and traded rhetorical blows as they ramped up their rhetoric over the timing of the elections in LAHORE.
The JUI-F stoked the fire by accusing the PPP of “running away from elections” in the guise of the PPP’s own storyline about the importance of holding elections on schedule. In a biting response, the PPP questioned the “anxiety” over election prospects that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had expressed.
The PPP’s secretary of information, Faisal Karim Kundi, quickly retaliated to the criticism by challenging Maulana’s hesitance in responding to electoral demands. He went on to say that his party didn’t follow orders from above when making political decisions (“unlike those who yield to somebody else’s instructions to start or end sit-ins”).
In an apparent jab at the JUI-F, Kundi said, “PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto endorses a level playing field, while those who benefit from the LFO are afraid of such fairness.” The LFO is known for allowing the creation of a lopsided playing field between the government and the opposition.
He went on to say that if Bilawal Bhutto had the public’s vote of confidence, he would become prime minister.
The JUI-F attacked Bilawal Bhutto for advocating a probable delay in elections, and the war of words ensued.
The chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had spoken out against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), accusing them of wanting to push back the date of general elections by more than three months. Not only did he disagree with the PML-N, but he also disagreed with Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s concerns about having polls in the dead of winter.
Bilawal had expressed his concern during a speech in Karachi, saying, “One [PML-N] claims that fresh delimitation is needed for the upcoming elections, and the other [JUI-F] challenges the likelihood of polls in January and February due to harsh winter. The people of Pakistan should now be able to easily identify all of the election-day defectors.Conflict in order to avoid votingIn its response on Wednesday, the JUI-F spokesperson requested the PPP to clarify its genuine intentions and cease targeting its coalition partners. He was suspicious about Bilawal’s haste.
“Why this haste? He prayed that Bilawal would have a long life and predicted that he would become prime minister one day.
The PPP representative stated that the party’s success in the 2018 elections in Larkana was due to a “level playing field.”
The representative went on to say that they supported the census because they saw value in it and that the “ruckus” around early elections was nothing more than an excuse not to vote.
The JUI-F spokesman also noted their shock at people’s rudeness when they asked for equal treatment or voiced worries about the weather.
The JUI-F representative was astounded by the ire caused by concerns about the weather and the desire for a level playing field.
The spokesman went on to urge that the PPP begin its election campaign sooner rather than later to head off any future complaints about a lack of time.
‘Pakistan needs Bilawal’
Meanwhile, PPP leader Sharjeel Inam Memon claimed his party was the only solution to the several crises facing Pakistan in a separate media conference earlier in the day.
“Pakistan needs PPP… Pakistan needs Bilawal Sahab,” Memon said with conviction at the news conference.
Memon continued by saying that the PPP is different from other political parties because it is not motivated by self-interest and instead wants to improve the lives of all Pakistanis.
Memon used his party’s historical record of accomplishments under the leadership of famous figure and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to back up his claim.
He pushed for snap elections to be held quickly. “The people should be allowed to exercise their mandate and elect a political party that should then steer the country out of crises,” he continued.
