Another JUI-F leader quits as rift within party widens

ISLAMABAD: In yet another setback for Maulana Fazlur Rehman, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Haji Abrar Hussain Tanoli bid farewell to the party, citing serious differences with the JUI-F chief on policy issues.

The former provincial minister for forests, who hails from Manshera, announced his decision to leave the party officially at a large public gathering in Khatain Da Galla.

He said Maulana Fazlur Rehman was working against the national interests in alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and vowed to resist them at every fora.

He said he would challenge the PML-N leaders in the upcoming elections.

Earlier Maulana Muhammad Khan Shirani, Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, former member of National Assembly (MNA) Maulana Shujaul Mulk, and former party spokesperson Hafiz Hussain Ahmad had also left, as the rift in the JUI-F has widened.

Haji Abrar Tanoli said the party was being run on personal whims and wishes of Maulana Fazlur Rehman for specific objectives and against the founding principles of the party.

Addressing the gathering, he said a vast majority of the party leaders and workers were patriotic Pakistanis, who, however, were being fed false news for achieving personal gains. He would join another political party soon after consultations with the people of Tanawal and his constituency, he added.

Haji Abrar Tanoli voiced his concern over the way the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was being used to build a certain narrative against the armed forces, which closely followed the stance of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) leadership against the country.

He said he, along with his large number of followers, would take every step to protect the country from such elements.

Haji Ibrar Tanoli served as provincial minister for forests in the cabinet of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak following the 2013 general election.