LAHORE: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Saturday said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman wants clash on political and religious issues.
Addressing a press conference at the Railways Headquarters here, he said that the JUI-F leader would be directly responsible in case of unrest, anarchy and confrontation on borders if he staged any protest.
He advised the Fazlur Rehman not to involve religious sections of society in an agitation against the government. “His agitation can damage the Kashmir freedom movement,” he added.
Sheikh Rasheed said, “Kashmir is dearer to us than our lives.” He said that tensions in the entire region had heightened due to the Kashmir issue. “All demands of Fazlur Rehman in regard to the situation in occupied Kashmir have already been presented before the United Nations by Prime Minister Imran Khan in his speech,” he added.
The railways minister said that Fazlur Rehman had earlier defamed the opposition and brought a bad name to national politics. He said that Fazlur Rehman wanted to use Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) but now he himself was being used.
“I want to give a message to religious forces that the Maulana is going to lead a clash on politics and religious issues,” the minister added.
Sheikh Rasheed alleged that Maulana Mufti Mehmood, father of Maulan Fazlur Rehman, had run a movement in the name of Islam while his son was misusing his father’s slogans for political gain.
The minister said that circumstances in Indian Occupied Kashmir were not normal and Kashmiris would continue their struggle for freedom from India, but the measures by Fazlur Rehman could cause disappointment among Kashmiris.
The minister commended Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s statement and advised PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif to choose a side. He said that a new era of politics had begun.
He claimed that the movement of Fazlur Rehman would come to an end if Imran only announced the release of six people. “Prime Minister and Pak Army are on the same page for national economic progress, national solidarity and stability,” he added.
The minister said that the opposition thought that there could be no way out by pushing Fazlur Rehman on the front line, but he added, it would never happen.
To a question, he suggested that Shehbaz Sharif should not become “Double Shah” and advised him to not play a double game as the situation in the country was not in his favor and the country was unable to bear instability.
The minister said that opposition leaders were striving to protect their father, brother and auntie (Phupho). He said that the prime minister was taking bold steps for placing the economy on the right path. He said credit goes to Prime Minister Imran Khan and said that the world had trust in him and it believed that he was an honest politician.
He said that the movement of Fazlur Rehman was nothing more than a tactic to blackmail the government.
The minister congratulated Imran Khan on his birthday and said the prime minister was going to China on an important visit during which the Main Line-1 project would be finalised.
“Imran will also start negotiations for ML-2 project as well while an international standard train would be built according to standard gauge under the ML-2 project,” he added.
Sheikh Rashid said that ML-2 would connect Gawadar with central Asia and Kabul.