KARACHI: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Chief, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has announced nationwide protest demonstrations against mounting inflation, scheduled for May 22 at district headquarters across the country.
Addressing the Wahdat-e-Ummat Conference on Manghopir Road on Thursday night, he said his party stood firmly with those facing economic hardship and that future political decisions would be made “in the field, not in parliament.”
He called for Pakistan to be strengthened as a welfare, defence and economically stable state, and announced a separate public gathering in Pishin, Balochistan, on June 4.
On the economy, he drew a sharp comparison on fuel prices since Iran has begun, pointing out that they had risen 16 percent in Bangladesh against 61 percent in Pakistan. He urged the government to finalize an oil import agreement with Iran, acknowledging this could displease the International Monetary Fund.
On regional affairs, he warned that an Israeli upper hand over Iran would pose a direct threat to Pakistan, adding that Israel sought dominance over the Muslim world and had heinous designs to occupy the Harmain-al-Sharifain. He urged Arab states to unite and form a joint defence force.
Reaffirming loyalty to the constitution, he said JUI-F respected defence institutions but stressed that those who violated the constitution bore responsibility for Pakistan’s decline. Addressing the prolonged conflicts across the Muslim world, he said Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Palestine and Gaza had suffered for decades while the world largely looked away. He called for awakening the Muslim conscience, invoking the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) teachings that the Ummah is like one body.
He reiterated support for an Islamic bloc with a joint defence and economic system and welcomed the Pakistan–Saudi defence pact, expressing hope it would be expanded. He alleged efforts had been made to keep JUI-F out of parliament through election rigging and that some groups had issued fatwas declaring party members disbelievers.
Recalling violence against party workers, he cited an incident in Bajaur where 80 bodies were buried in a single funeral and questioned attacks on clerics in Kurram, Waziristan and Mohmand. He said he would not seek revenge if harmed and would hold the state responsible.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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