Zaheer-ud-Din Babar
The question concerning Maulana Fazlur Rehman which was still not been satisfactorily answered is that “What exactly does he want?” .He apparently wants to topple the existing government, however does not say what would happen next. In light of the current political scenario, every sensible Pakistani is aware of the limited support that Maulana Fazlur Rehman possesses. For example, even though some of the Deoband madras openly support the JUI Leader, butthe majority does not seem to care for him or his Azadi march protest. Many prominent political leaders are also opposed to him, MuftiNaheem, the Principal of JamiaBinoria International, in the presence of Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony PirNoorulQadri and Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, openly said that he did not support the JUI’s Azadi March. In a similar scenario, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi also denied support to FazlurRehman’sdharna in Islamabad.
Recently, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan highlighted the Kashmir issue on an international level. In his UN speech, he also presented the seriousness with which the government handled the Kashmir issue. Moreover, in Pakistan, the media alongside the major political parties also highlighted the brutalities of the Indian forces in occupied Kashmir. Social media also played a vital role in spreading awareness about the Kashmir issue. However, at this moment when the whole nation was united against a common adversary,MaulanaFazlurRehman was chosen to agitate the government. This, in turn has shifted the political situation in Pakistan which has led to the BJP government becoming relaxed.
Another significant question is why doesn’tMaulanaFazlurRehmandemand a stop to the ever increasing inflation in the country. This illustrates the isolation of the political figures from the problems of the common man. It is sad to see that the increasing cost of Electricity and Gas is not a matter of concern for our political leaders. The dark side of our political system is that our elected representatives do not show any interest to the highlighted routine problems. For example, MaulanaFazlurRehman also did not put any significant effort in recognizing the miseries faced by the residents of the twin cities. The miseries are primarily due to the fact that third world politics lack maturity, with many of their politicians being greedy, corrupt and self-centered. Despite efforts in both time and money to get rid of these politicians, very few progress has been made.
Prime Minister Iman Khan is of the viewpoint that these current agitations by the opposition are due to the fact that many of their prominent leaders are in NAB custody, with the remaining corrupt ones being actively shielded by the JUI-F and its protests. Government officials are of the view that, had no leaders been arrested, no dharna would have taken place owing to the large amount of effort behind it. However, it is quite possible that due to this dharna, the JUI-F might actually prove itself as a major entity in the political scenario. Time, however, will tell if this may actually come to be.
