Anyone, even a dog, killed by US is martyr: Fazl

Fazlur Rehman, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), said on Tuesday that anyone killed by the United States, even a dog, is a martyr, a private TV channel reported.
He said this when he was asked about the killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) top terrorist Hakeemullah Mehsud who was killed by a US drone strike on November 1.
He also said, “A lot of people still want peace negotiations and therefore the negotiations should not stop.”
“JUI-F wants to move forward with the peace negotiations together with the other parties,” he added.
“We will do anything for the country,” he said.
Soon after speaking to the media, the JUI-F chief said during the National Assembly session, “Anyone killed by the US is a martyr, even if it is a dog.”
He also said, “The terrorism in the country has weakened the economy and destroyed the peace of the country.”
“A lot of parliamentarians have become martyrs because of terrorism,” he said, adding, “His own house has been attacked three times.”
Talking about peace across the country, he said, “Punjab has relatively more peace than the rest of the provinces.”
The cleric urged the government and political parties to take the issue of drone attack seriously.
He said that Islam has nothing to do with extremism and terrorism as it abhors the bloodshed of innocent people.
The cleric said the government should convene another All Parties Conference to find a way forward following the situation created by the recent drone attack.
He praised the government’s efforts for peace process and said no hurdles should be created in the way.
The cleric said that there was bloodshed in the last three decades which show that there is no government writ, adding that in this situation the country could not survive.
He said that JUI-F understood that today the problem being faced by the country was not of a person but it was problem of the state.
Fazl said that the government and all political parties should make an atmosphere in which all the forces should get united and take decision with consensus.
The JUI-F chief said that peace was necessary for the survival of economy, adding that price hike was affecting the common man.
He said, “We should strengthen the country and other institutions.”
He said All Parties Conference (APC) had been convened in which all the stakeholders had given the mandate to the government to start dialogue with the Taliban.
He urged all the political parties to support the government in the peace process.