ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aayine-e-Pakistan (TTAP) on Tuesday levelled serious allegations against Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, accusing him of aligning with “undemocratic and unconstitutional forces” to subvert the public mandate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Speaking at a press conference, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, spokesman for the TTAP – a coalition of six opposition parties – alleged that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was attempting to engineer the installation of his brother as chief minister through “backdoor channels,” allegedly seeking the involvement of the military establishment to pressure PTI-backed MPAs into defecting.
“If that is not the case,” Khokhar asked, “then why has Maulana filed a petition challenging the democratic election of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s newly elected Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi.”
Khokhar warned that the country’s future lay in the continuity of democratic norms, not in “kleptocracy or dictatorship,” and urged democratic forces to resist any attempts to derail the constitutional process.
“The sole wish of Fazlur Rehman is to install his brother as chief minister through the defection of PTI MPAs, with the help of powers that do not want Afridi to assume office,” he lamented. “But his wish is not going to be fulfilled.”
He also pointedly noted that the ruling coalition itself had distanced from Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who, he alleged, had “sided with unconstitutional elements” in a bid to overturn the people’s verdict.
The criticism came just hours after JUI-F moved the Peshawar High Court (PHC), challenging the legality of Sohail Afridi’s election as chief minister.
The petition, filed by JUI-F’s parliamentary leader in the KP Assembly, Lutfur Rehman– who is also the younger brother of Maulana Fazl– contended that the resignation of outgoing CM Ali Amin Gandapur had not yet been formally accepted.
Filed through Barrister Yaseen Raza, the petition argued that the Governor had summoned Gandapur to appear before him on October 15, implying that the resignation had not been ratified and therefore, the election of a new chief minister was premature and legally questionable.
Lutfur Rehman stated that while the opposition had submitted nomination papers at the Speaker’s request, it chose to boycott the assembly session once it became clear that the resignation process remained incomplete.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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