Changes to 18th Amendment opposed: Fazl asks NAB to stop 'unilateral' action against Opposition

PESHAWAR: Chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, has asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) "to stop unilateral action against the Opposition".

Fazl, while reading out a unanimous declaration endorsed by the All Parties Leaders' Conference held at the JUI-F provincial secretariat here on Saturday, said the government which was a production of "rigging" had proved itself to be incompetent on basis of its performance, and so it had no right to change the 18th Amendment and end the parliamentary and democratic spirit of the Constitution.

The All Parties Leaders' Conference was sponsored by the JUI-F.

Fazl said that a change to the 18th Amendment was not favorable for the integrity and solidarity of the country.

He asked the government to take proactive steps to control the problem of locusts in Punjab and other parts of the country. The JUI-F chief expressed his grave concerns over the difficulties of the overseas Pakistanis and the "inactiveness of the ministry of foreign affairs" to address their issues.

He said Rs500 billion should be given under the AGN formula. The JUI-F chief said protection of newly-merged tribal districts should be ensured. He said the reference against Justice Faez Isa "was based on dishonesty".

The conference held discussions on four points, namely, the NFC award, the coronavrus situation, difficulties being faced by overseas Pakistanis and government's initiatives in this regard.

Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and Sikandar Khan Sherpao, central and provincial chairmen of the Qaumi Watan Party, Hamayun Khan, provincial president of the Pakistan People's Party, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad and Prof Muhammad Ibrahim of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Javed Murtaza Abbasi, provincial general-secretary of the PML-N, Sardar Hussain Babak, ANP provincial general-secretary, Dr Shahid, Mukhtiar Yousafzai, Mukhtiyar Bacha, Malik Nadeem and others spoke at the conference.

Besides, JUI-F central and provincial leaders, including Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Senator Attaur Rehman, Attaullah Darwish, Abdul Jalil Jan, Asif Iqbal Daudzai, Amanullah Haqqani and Mufti Fazal Ghafoor also attended the conference.

The JUI-F chief said the government's attitude towards handling the coronavirus situation was non-serious as it failed in devising a joint policy. He said no one was concerned over the miseries of those Pakistanis who had been languishing in different Gulf states.

Aftab Sherpao of the QWP criticized the KP government's stand on the 18th Amendment and the National Finance Award. Hamayun Khan of the PPP alleged that the coronavirus cases had been escalated due to irresponsible decisions of incumbent rulers.

He said the Sindh government took timely steps to tackle the corona situation. Hamayun Khan said the PPP would soon organize an All Parties Conference on the prevailing situation in the country.

Professor Ibrahim of the Jamaat-e-Islami said the Centre had seized the rights of the federating units by making changes to the 18th Amendment. Murtaza Abbasi of the PML-N said the Opposition had been on the same page over the issues being faced by the people of the country.

He said "the selected rulers have been imposed on them", adding that the entire nation was being punished for "the wrong decisions and incompetence" of the government. He said the PML-N stance over the coronavirus situation, the NFC award and the 18th Amendment was crystal clear.

Sardar Hussain Babak of the ANP said, "The conspiracy of 25 July 2018 has been exposed to keep central leaders of the mainstream political parties out from the parliament."

He said attempts were being made to usurp the rights of the provinces by rolling back the 18th Amendment, asking leaders of all the political parties to take a firm and unanimous stance on this important issue and make a joint struggle in this regard. Earlier, a 17-point declaration was unanimously endorsed by the conference.