In-house change in Balochistan: Fazl assures Raisani his party will not support any move
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, while refusing to re-join federal government, assured Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raisani that his party would not support any move to topple the provincial government.
The Chief Minister Balochistan visited the residence of JUI-F chief along with Federal Minister for Postal Services Mir Israrullah Khan Zehri here at the Minister's Enclave in the aftermath of rumours about in-house change in Balochistan Assembly. The Chief Minister also met separately with Maulana Mohammad Khan Shirani, who is known to have an impressive position within the party in general and Balochistan in particular.
Sources in the JUI-F said that Nawab Aslam Raisani during his meeting with Fazal-ur-Rehman invited the latter to rejoin the coalition government in the center but he turned down the offer, saying that it was not possible. However, he assured the Chief Minister that his party would not support any move to overthrow the PPP-led coalition government in the province.
Later briefing reporters, Maulana termed Nawab Aslam Raisani as his trusted colleague, saying that he shared views on the prevailing political situation in the country. He said he told the Chief Minister that his party's central executive committee meeting will be held today (Wednesday) in which the entire political scenario will be discussed. He added that decision whether to quit or remain in the coalition in Balochistan as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan would be taken up in the party CEC meeting.
Fazal said that the meeting would decide future strategy of the party, which will also be attended by Maulana Shirani and his party's Senior Minister in Balochistan government Maulana Abdul Waseh. About the rumours of in-house change in Balochistan Assembly, he said that it was a proposal presented by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain but his party has given no response so far.
The JUI-F chief said that he was closely watching political developments in the country and consultations were underway at party level. He said that he stuck to the party's decision of quitting the federal government and the future strategy was not yet finalized, adding that "We are not in a position to re-join the government in the centre," he added.
When his comments were sought on the reported statement by Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Shah that the chairmanship of Council of Islamic Ideology will cease to exist with the resignation of Rehmatullah Kakar as Minister for Housing, the JUI-F chief said he challenges that such a statement was not given by Khursheed Shah, adding that he might have said this in his personal capacity. Nawab Aslam Raisani while talking to media men rejected the rumours of in-house change in Balochistan Assembly saying that he sees no threat to his government.