Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticised on Monday the recently launched operation ''Azm-e-Istehkam" saying any new military operation will further weaken the country.
Addressing a presser in Quetta, after a meeting with National Party chief Dr Malik Baloch, Asghar Achakzai, Khushal Khan Kakar, and Abdul Khaliq Hazara, Rehman urged the establishment to end its supremacy across all sectors.
Mr Fazl argued that the operation would not bring stability but rather destabilise Pakistan. "On the same basis that the army chief is a Pakistani, I am also a Pakistani," he asserted.
"Our tribes have a 300-year history of fighting against slavery. More than 50 thousand Mujahideen were martyred against the British. Was Pakistan acquired for the slavery of the generals? Will they chase us like animals forever?"
The JUI chief lamented the absence of state authority, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
"As soon as the sun sets in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the police retreat to their stations. Despite the presence of the army and police all over the country, why are they helpless?" he questioned.
The JUI-F chief also slated the structure of the apex committee, highlighting its military dominance at various administrative levels.
"When it is at the tehsil level, a major sits there; at the district level, a colonel; at the provincial level, the corps commander; and at the federal level, the army chief. Is this the role of the people?" he asked.
He also took a dig at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, implying that he holds no real power. "Shehbaz Sharif will gladly accept responsibility, but he is not the prime minister.He is just sitting on the chair and is happy with that," Rehman remarked.
