ISLAMABAD: Pakistani protest leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday rejected the government’s proposal to constitute a judicial commission to probe alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections, vowing to continue the protest in Islamabad that has entered its sixth day.
The chief of the opposition party, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), is leading tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Islamabad, seeking resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan and new “free and fair” polls in the country. The JUI-F leader has called the incumbent government a result of rigging in the last year’s elections.
“We reject every proposal for the constitution of a commission [to investigate the alleged rigging], and reiterate our demand for fresh elections,” Rehman said while addressing the charged gathering camped on the outskirts of Islamabad from the top of his shipping container.
The JUI-F chief who enjoys the support of at least eight other opposition parties against the government said that no one accepts “the rigged government.”
Earlier in the day, the government’s negotiating committee, led by Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, held talks with the opposition parties’ representatives but failed to break the deadlock. The government’s committee had already declared that Prime Minister Khan’s resignation was off the table.
“Both sides have stuck to their respective positions, but we are trying to break the impasse,” the minister said after meeting the opposition representatives in the federal capital. “We have been trying to find a middle ground [to resolve the issue].”
The firebrand religious cleric on Friday gave the prime minister two days to resign, adding that the demonstrators would otherwise devise a workable future strategy to dislodge the government. The deadline for the ultimatum expired on Sunday, but Rehman refrained from announcing a new deadline or strategy to achieve his goal.
The opposition parties have built their anti-government campaign on the basis of alleged election irregularities and a fast deteriorating economy since the installation of the current government in August last year.
Prime Minister Khan had come into power, promising about ten million jobs for youth and five million low-cost homes for middle-class families.
The economy has, however, nosedived in the last one year, with inflation touching double-digit numbers as the government opted for a $6 billion bailout package with tough taxation and economic reforms conditions to stave off a balance of payments crisis.
Criticizing the government’s economic policies, the protest leader said the country’s economic growth had plummeted from 5.8 percent to 2.5 percent this year, and this was resulting in the closure of factories and unemployment.
“Pakistan’s economy is deteriorating fast, inflation has skyrocketed and tens of thousands of daily wagers have lost their livelihood due to closure of the industry,” he added.
